LIBRARY  OF  PRINCETON 

"  -^  '   I  9004 

L 

THEOLOGICAL  SEV.I^MRY 


HISTORY 


OF   THE 


Dn, 


)oiaii(i  msifieiiii  iiiiireli, 


By  B.  W.  McDONNOLD,  D.D.,  LL.D. 


There  shall  be  a  handful  of  corn  in  the  earth  upon  the  top  of  the  mountains- 
the  fruit  thereof  shall  shake  like  Lebanon  .-/>^«/,«  l^^u,  le. 

Let  us  watch  awhile  the  sowers, 

Let  us  mark  the  tiny  grain, 
Scattered  oft  in  doubt  and  trembling, 

Sown  in  weakness  or  in  pain. 

—F-,  R.  H. 


NASHVILLE,  TENN.: 
Board  of  Publicatiox  of  Cumberland  Presbyterian  Church 

iSSS. 


LIBRARY  OF  PRINCETON 


Allfi   I    I    2004 


J 


THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY 


PREFACE. 


At  the  suggestion  of  Dr.  D.  M.  Harris,  tlie  Board  of  Pub- 
lication of  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  church  contracted  with 
the  writer  for  the  preparation  of  this  histor}-.  The  size  of 
the  book  was  limited  by  the  board  before  a  line  of  it  was 
written.  It  was  also  understood  between  us  that  only  the 
minimum  of  time  consistent  with  thoroughness  was  to  be 
allowed.  Casting  the  horoscope  of  the  book  under  these  lim- 
itations, there  were  found  just  three  things  to  choose  between. 
The  first  was  to  end  the  volume  where  my  own  life  became 
a  humble  factor  in  our  history,  and  where  interested  feelings 
might  prevent  clear-sightedness.  The  second  was  to  condense 
our  whole  history,  giving  each  event  and  actor  a  place.  The 
third  was  to  make  such  selections  from  the  whole  field  as 
would  furnish  a  volume  of  good  reading  for  our  people,  and 
illustrate  our  life  and  progress.  The  first  method  was  not 
acceptable  to  my  counselors,  either  in  the  board  or  out  of  it. 
The  second  method  would  have  produced  a  book  which  no- 
body would  read.  The  third  method  involved  the  inevitable 
complaints  of  all  those  who  might  be  omitted,  besides  open- 
ing other  doors  of  complaints  not  found  in  the  first  method. 
After  many  consultations  the  third  method,  with  all  its 
inevitable  complaints  and  inevitable  omissions  of  good  men 
who  deserve  mention,  was  deliberately  adopted,  and  the  work 
of  gathering  material  from  the  whole  field,   and  studying  every 

particle   of  this    material   so    as    to    be    able   to   make   the   best 

(iii) 


iv  Preface. 

selections,  was  undertaken.  I  had  gone  but  a  little  wa}-  in 
this  work  before  I  discovered  the  utter  impossibility  of  accom- 
plishing it  without  more  time  than  was  at  first  proposed. 
More  was  granted,  but  with  the  pressing  demand  that  it  be 
made  as  brief  as  thoroughness  permitted.  My  only  fears  on 
that  point  are  that  it  will  be  found  by  experts  that  I  made 
that   time   far   too   brief. 

Under  the  same  limitations  the  plan  was  formed  about  the 
different  States.  It  was  to  give  the  origin  of  the  church  in 
each  State,  with  as  much  fullness  of  detail  as  could  well  be 
secured,  extending  the  record  only  to  the  organization  of  tlie 
first  presbytery,  closing  that  chapter  with  a  rapid  summary  view 
of  the  present  condition  of  our  church  in  that  part  of  th.e 
field.  There  were  certain  subjects  belonging  to  'all  periods 
to  which  special  chapters  were  reserved,  to  be  placed  at  tl:e 
last  of  the  book;  and  if  they  brought  out  any  thing  further 
from  the  w^ork  of  our  people  in  any  particular  State,  at  any 
later  period,  all  well;  and  if  not,  there  would  be  no  further 
notice   taken    of  that   portion    of  the    church. 

The  question  of  brief  biographical  sketches  was  also  care- 
fully weighed,  and  finally  decided  in  the  negative.  To  this 
decision  an  exception  was  made  in  the  case  of  those  gener- 
ally called  the  fathers  of  the  church.  If  a  biography  formed 
part  of  the  very  thread  of  the  history  which  I  was  writing, 
just  so  far  was  it  also  made  a  part  of  this  volume.  There 
were  placed  in  my  hands  some  very  interesting  biographies 
which  contained  no  single  item  that  could  be  used  accord- 
ing  to   my    established   programme    of  operations. 

It  was  not  so  much  to  show  how  our  church  originated 
a'i   to   show"   what    it    has    done    since    it    originated    that    this 


Preface.  v 

book  was  undertaken.  In  showing  this,  my  best  strength 
has  been  put  forth  to  the  utmost.  In  that  part  of  the  work 
I  was  fortunate  in  gathering  materials.  I  reaped,  also,  the 
fruit  of  past  labors.  The  materials  mostly  relied  on  for  this 
part  of  the  history  were  manuscripts.  Of  these  my  collection 
was  extensive.  Among  them  were  manuscripts  from  James 
McGready,  Finis  Ewing,  Samuel  McAdow.  Robert  Bell,  Rob- 
ert  Donnell,   and   Thomas    Calhoun. 

In  1845,  while  boarding  at  Calhoun's  house,  and  often 
meeting  there  various  actors  in  the  events  out  of  which 
our  church  originated,  I  commenced  taking  down  from  the 
lips  of  these  old  men  a  full  history  of  the  origin  and  work 
of  our  church.  The  statements  from  Callioun,  McSpeddin, 
Lowry,  and  Aston  covered  all  the  main  points  of  our  history 
up  to  1845.  ^^^  spite  of  war  and  fire  these  memoranda  have 
been  preserved,  and  were  used  in  the  preparation  of  this  book. 
The  habit  of  collecting  such  memoranda,  begun  in  my  boy- 
hood, has  been  kept  up  ever  since,  and  the  accumulation  of 
reliable   materials    in    that   way   is   now   considerable. 

At  two  different  periods  in  my  life  I  have  been  called 
upon  to  travel  over  the  church.  In  the  last  period  of  travels 
I  spent  twelve  years,  visiting  more  than  four  fifths  of  the 
entire  denomination;  and  though  neither  of  these  extensive 
tours  had  any  reference  to  collecting  materials  for  a  history, 
yet  that  old  habit  of  keeping  memoranda  was  all  the  time 
unintentionally  furnishing  matter  for  such  a  work.  So,  too, 
did  that  old  habit  furnish  me  the  only  existing  records  which 
I  can  now  fi.  d  of  the  proceedings  of  the  conventions  held  by 
our  people  in  Chattanooga,  Tennessee,  in  1863,  and  in  Selma, 
Alabama,  in   1864. 


vi  Preface. 

There  were  placed  in  my  hands  for  nse  in  the  preparation 
of  this  little  vohnne  sixty  niannscript  autobiographies,  some 
brief,  and  some  extending  to  five  hundred  pages  of  foolscap. 
Two  of  these  were  the  lives  of  men  who  were  arraigned  be- 
fore the  commission  of  Kentucky  vSynod.  The  original  record 
books  of  all  our  first  judicatures  have  also  been  examined,  and 
the  archives  of  old  Cumberland  College  and  of  Cumberland  Uni- 
versity were  consulted,   as  well  as  many  other  official  records. 

The  literary  remains  in  full  of  Richard  Beard,  Milton  Bird, 
David  Lowry,  and  President  Anderson,  all  very  extensive,  were 
all  explored.  Parts  of  the  literary  remains  of  various  others 
were  placed  in  my  hands.  Of  this  latter  class  I  mention 
James  Smith,  W.  A.  Scott,  John  W.  Ogden,  Finis  Ewing,  F. 
R.  Cossitt,  Robert  Donnell,  H.  A.  Hunter,  Isaac  Shook,  and 
Herschel  S.  Porter.  Dr.  Beard's  old  letters  date  back  to  1830, 
and  are  from  all  the  chief  actors  in  our  church  from  the  be- 
ginning. There  are  perhaps  eight  thousand  of  these  letters, 
and  they  discuss  every  important  subject  that  has  ever  been 
before  our  denomination.  They  will  all  be  filed  in  the  library 
of  Cumberland  University. 

The  private  diary  of  Dr.  Beard  has  been  of  great  ser\-ice 
to  me.  Indeed,  diaries  are  the  most  trustworthy  of  all  man- 
uscript authorities.  There  was  a  considerable  number  of  these 
placed  in  my  hands.  Most  of  them  are  to  be  returned  to  their 
authors'  families.  Others,  together  Avith  many  manuscrij^ts,  are 
to   be   filed    in    the   library    of  Cumberland    University. 

It  required  more  than  fifteen  months'  constant  labor  to  ex- 
plore all  these  authorities.  Files  of  from  one  to  fi\-e  weekly 
papers  (and  various  monthlies)  for  a  period  of  fifty-seven  years 
had    to    be    examined.      "The    ninth    ripening    year"  was   not 


Preface.  vii 

allowed  me  for  all  this  work,  but  past  studies  rendered  some 
little  compensation  for  this  lack  of  time.  Dr.  Lindsley's  labors 
in  collecting  material  also  saved  me  much  delay.  The  fruit 
of  his  noble  toil  has  been  freely  used  in  preparing  this  volume. 

The  generous  assistance  of  many  brethren  was  extended  to 
me  in  collecting  material.  The  list  of  the  names  of  those  breth- 
ren would  be  too  long  to  give  here,  but  God  keeps  all  the 
roll.  He  knows  how  generously  some  of  them  struggled  to 
help  me;    and   he   will   not   forget   their  labor  of  love. 

The  board  secured  the  services  of  a  very  learned  commit- 
tee to  revise  the  manuscript  before  it  went  to  press,  and  they 
had  unlimited  power  not  only  to  correct  errors,  but  also  to 
strike  out  from  the  manuscript  whatever  they  saw  fit.  They 
corrected  several  minor  errors,  and  there  may  be  others  which 
neither  I  nor  the  committee  detected.  Those  who  have  read 
' '  The  Biography  of  a  Lie ' '  know  how  even  an  accumulation 
of  authorities  may  sometimes  mislead  a  writer.  I  have  de- 
tected mistakes  in  authorities  where  mistakes  seemed  to  be 
impossible.  It  is  by  no  means  likely  that  I  have  detected  all 
in    the   authorities   relied    on   for   this   volume. 

It  is  proper  here  to  state  that,  with  my  full  consent,  the 
book  editor  made  great  changes,  especially  in  certain  parts  of 
the  last  two  periods  of  the  history.  In  this  he  had  the  as- 
sistance of  the  able  committee  already  mentioned.  My  history 
of  the  sixth  period  was  prepared  in  such  haste  that  great 
changes   were   no   doubt   needed. 

And  now  to  Him  for  whom  every  line  of  this  book  was 
written,  and  to  whom  all  its  future  destiny  is  committed,  I 
leave  this  volume  to  be  used  as  His  infinite  wisdom  may 
determine. 


EDITOR'S  PREFACE 


Before  the  work  of  editing  this  voliiiiie  was  begun,  the  Board 
of  Publication  appointed  a  committee  consisting  of  the  Rev.  J. 
C.  Provine,  D.D.,  the  Rev.  ^I.  B.  DeWitt,  D.D.,  the  Rev.  W.  E. 
Ward,  D.D.,  and  the  Rev.  D.  M.  Harris,  D.D.,  to  assist  the  book 
editor  in  this  task.  Several  meetings  were  held,  and  some  of  the 
chapters  were  read  and  discussed  by  the  whole  committee.  But 
this  method  required  so  much  time,  and  such  difficulty  was  ex- 
perienced in  securing  a  full  and  regular  attendance  at  the  meet- 
ings, that  it  was  arranged  for  the  members  of  the  committee  sep- 
arately to  read  the  manuscript,  indicating  their  suggestions,  and 
leaving  the  work  of  making  changes  to  the  book  editor. 

As  the  work  progressed,  and  especially  when  the  record  of  the 
closing  period  of  the  history  was  reached,  it  seemed  to  the  com- 
mittee and  to  the  editor  necessary  to  give  a  somewhat  fuller 
account  of  certain  events  and  certain  departments  of  the  church's 
work  than  that  found  in  the  manuscript.  Accordingly  the  editor 
greatly  extended  the  history  of  the  relation  of  Cumberland  Pres- 
byterians to  the  Presbyterian  Alliance,  the  history  of  city  and 
home  missions  since  the  war,  and  of  the  Trinidad,  the  Japan,  and 
the  Mexican  missions;  of  Waynesburg  College,  of  the  first  efforts 
of  the  church  to  establish  schools  in  Pennsylvania  and  Ohio  and 
in  the  West,  of  the  revision  of  the  Confession  of  Faith,  and  of 
several  minor  matters.  As  stated  in  the  body  of  the  work,  Dr. 
Harris  made  large  additions  to  the  sketch  of  Ivincoln  University, 

(ix) 


X  Preface. 

and  John  M.  Gaut,  Esq.,  prepared  the  history  of  the  Board  of 
Publication  found  in  the  forty-seventh  chapter.  The  sketch  of 
Cane  Hill  College  in  the  forty-sixth  chapter  was  furnished  by 
the  Rev.  F.  R.  Earle,  D.D.,  president  of  that  institution.  The 
index  at  the  close  of  the  volume  was  prepared  by  the  Rev.  J.  P. 
Sprowls,  D.D,  All  these  changes  and  additions  were  made  with 
the  cordial  consent  and  approval  of  Dr.  IMcDonnold. 

The  editor  desires  to  acknowledge  the  valuable  assistance  he 
has  received  from  his  colleague  and  co-laborer,  Dr.  Harris,  and 
the  no  less  helpful  suggestions  of  Dr.  Provine  and  Dr.  DeWitt. 
By  reason  of  the  illness  and  death  of  Dr.  Ward,  the  committee 
was,  except  in  the  earlier  stages  of  the  work,  deprived  of  the 
counsel  and  suggestions  which  his  literary  attainments  and  wide 
knowledge  of  our  denominational  history  so  well  fitted  him  to 
give. 

In  reading  and  re-reading  this  volume,  first  in  manuscript  and 

afterward  in  the  proof  sheets,  the  editor  has  been  more  and  more 

impressed  with  its  value  as  a  most  important  contribution  to  our 

denominational  literature.      By  the  simple  naturalness  and  beauty 

of  his  style,  by  apt  illustrations  and  well-selected  incidents.   Dr. 

McDonnold  lias  imparted  to  these   pages  a  living  interest  and  a 

charm  which   it  is  believed  will  make   their   perusal   a  delight. 

This  book  is  sent  forth  to  the  church  and  to  the  world  with  the 

confident   hope   that  it  will   awaken,   not    only  among   our   own 

people  but  wherever  it  shall  be  read,  new^  interest  in  the  history 

and  doctrines  and  future  work  of  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian 

church. 

J.  M.   Howard,  Book  Editor. 

Nashville,  January,  1888. 


CONTENTS. 


FIRST  PERIOD. 


FROM  THE  BEGINNING  OF  THE  GREAT  REVIVAL  TO  THE 
ORGANIZATION  OF  THE  COUNCIL,   1796  TO  1S06. 


CHAPTER   I. 


STATE  OF  THE  COUNTRY. 


The  country  called  Cumberland.  Indian  warfare.  Anecdote  of 
Daviess  and  Donnelson.  Pioneer  women.  Colonel  Joe  Brown. 
Privations  and  hardships.  Boating  to  New  Orleans.  Mail 
facilities, 1-4 


CHAPTER   II. 

LITERATURE  AND  RELIGION. 

Education  without  books.  The  first  school  in  Cumberland.  Ten- 
nessee's first  "meeting-house."  Charles  Cummings.  Ken- 
tucky. Rice  and  Craighead.  Formal  worship.  Unconverted 
chiu'ch  members  and  ministers.  Richard  King.  Lifeless 
preaching.  Conversion  of  James  McGready.  His  removal  to 
Kentucky, 5-9 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE  GREAT  REVIVAL. 

Fasting  and  prayer.     McGready's  covenant.     Gaspei"  River.     Gen- 
eral   awakening.      Muddy    River.      Sinners    falling   prostrate. 

(xi) 


xii  Contents. 

Origin  of  camp-meetings.  Spread  of  the  revival.  Its  origin 
in  McGready's  churches.  The  "  Cumberlands "  not  "New 
Lights."     Shouting.     Tokens.    "The  Union," 10-19 


CHAPTER    IV. 

THE  REVIVAL  A  GENUINE  WORK  OF  GOD'S  SPIRIT. 

Testimony  of  David  Rice,  and  of  the  Presbyterian  General  As- 
sembly. George  Baxter's  testimony.  David  Nelson  in  the 
"  Western  Sketch  Book."  James  Gallagher.  Methodist  tes- 
timony. Dr.  Speer's  history.  Infidelity  and  the  revival  of 
iSoo.     Modern  missionary  progress  and  the  revival,   ....  20-26 


CHAPTER    V. 

A  PENTECOSTAL  BAPTISM. 

The  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost  the  distinctive  privilege  of  the  new 
dispensation.  Finis  Ewing's  testimony.  Anecdote  of  Ewing. 
Mr.  jMoody  and  "the  power."  Anecdotes  of  Donnell  and  Cal- 
houn. Dr.  Samuel  Miller  and  H.  F.  Deiany.  An  ordination 
incident.  James  B.  Porter  in  a  Presbyterian  camp-meeting. 
The  sublime  faith  of  our  first  preachers.  Calhoun  dealing 
with  disturbers.  Solemn  covenants.  Remarkable  answers  to 
prayer.     Testimony  of  our  first  preachers, 27-38 


CHAPTER    VI. 

OPPOSITION  TO  THE  REVIVAL. 

Opposition  to  AIcGrcady's  work  in  North  Carolina.  Balch  in  Mc- 
Gready's Kentucky  churches.  Violence.  Hyper-Calvinism 
logically  anti-revival.  "  Old  Side  "  objections  to  revival  "  meas- 
lU'es."  Camp-meetings  and  the  "  mourners'  bench."  Argu- 
ments. An  "orderlv"  meeting.  Misrepresentation.  The 
"  Stoneites."     An    editor's    mistake.     "The  jerks,"     ,    .    .    .39-47 


COXTENTS.  xiii 

CHAPTER    VII. 

THE  SECOND  DIFFICULTY— MINISTERIAL  EDUCATION. 

Pressing  need  for  more  preachers.  David  Rice's  advice.  Ander- 
son, Ewing,  and  King  before  the  Transylvania  Presbytery. 
Anderson  received  as  a  "  candidate."  The  General  Assembly's 
advice.  The  revival  party's  statement.  Statement  of  James 
Hutchhison,  Esq.  King  as  a  lay  exhorter.  Anderson.  Mc- 
Lean. Porter.  Chapman.  Division  of  Transylvania  Pres- 
bytery, and  formation  of  Cumljerland  Presbytery.  Ordination 
of  Anderson,  Ewing,  and  King.  The  educational  question 
not  the  cause  of  division.  Proofs.  Efforts  to  secure  education 
for  young  men.  Presbyterian  testimony  then  and  now.  How 
shall  we  evangelize  the  masses? 48-6:5 

CHAPTER  VIII  . 

THIRD    DIFFICULTY— DOCTRINES— RESERVATIONS    IN 
ADOPTING  THE  BOOK. 

Reservations  in  adopting  the  Confession.  Meanings  of  "fatality." 
Dr.  Davidson's  testimony.  Two  charges.  Unsoundness  of 
doctrine  the  chief  difficulty.  Platform  of  union  with  South- 
ern Presbyterians  proposed  in  1S67.  "Elect  infants,"  and  the 
Westminster  Assembly.  Dr.  MacCrae,  of  Scotland.  The  West- 
minster creed  an  incumbrance  to  revival  preaching.  Testimony 
of  Dr.  Chalmers  and  Dr.  Schaff.  Creeds  and  theodicies.  Sig- 
nificant incidents  in  the  Belfast  Council.  The  mission  of 
Cumberland  Presbyterians, 66—76 

CHAPTER   IX.    . 

FOURTH    DIFFICULTY— TRAMPLING   ON  A  PRESBY- 
TERY'S CONSTITUTIONAL  RIGHTS  BY  A 
SYNODICAL  COMMISSION. 

The  two  parties  in  Cumberland  Presbytery.  The  Commission. 
Statement  of  charges.  The  young  men  appealed  to.  For- 
bidden to  preach.  This  action  pronounced  unconstitutional 
by  the  Presbyterian  General  Assembly.  Bitterness  of  the  peo- 
ple against  the  Commission.     Mr.  Lyle, 77~Si 


xiv  Contents. 


SECOND  PERIOD. 

FROM   THE   FORMATION    OF  THE  COUNCIL  TO  THE  OR- 
GANIZATION   OF  THE  GENERAL  ASSEMBLY, 
iSo6  TO   1S29. 


CHAPTER  X. 

TPIE   NEW  CHURCH. 

The  Council.  Why  the  revival  party  did  not  appeal  from  the 
Commission's  decision.  Cumberland  Presbytery  dissolved. 
The  Council's  eftbrts  for  reconciliation.  Lyle's  tears.  The 
Assembly's  final  decision.  The  Council's  last  effort  for  recon- 
ciliation. Gloomy  outlook.  Cumberland  Presbytery  re-organ- 
ized. "The  Cumberland  schism  "  not  a  schism.  Measures  ' 
adopted  by  the  new  Presbytery.  Rigid  rules  and  discipline. 
Strict  Sabbath  observance.  Lack  of  regular  pastorates.  Meth- 
ods of  education  and  study.  List  of  the  ministers  belonging 
to  the  new  presbytery, 82- 


CHAPTER  XL 

FIRST  AIMS— NECESSITY  FOR    A    SYNOD— ITS  ORGAN- 
IZATION—SKETCHES OF  ITS  MEMBERS. 

A  separate  denomination  not  at  first  aimed  at.  Formation  of  a 
Synod.  Presbyterial  boundaries.  Pen-and-ink  sketch  of  the 
members  of  the  synod.  McSpeddin.  Harris.  Philip  AIc- 
Donnold.     William  ISIcGee's  anxiety  about  the  new  creed,  .  93-97 


CHAPTER  XII. 

THE    CONFESSION     OF     FAITH  —  SYNOPSIS     OF     DOC- 
TRINES—FULLER   CONFESSION— A    MEDIUM 
SYSTEM— DIAGRAM. 

Exceptions  about  fataHt\\     Outline   statement  of  doctrine.     Fuller 
creed  adopted.     Exhibit  of  changes  in  the  Westminster  Con- 


"1 


Contents.  xv 

fessions.     Additions.     "The    medium    system."     Diagram    of 
creeds.     Conditions  of  communion, 98-108 


CHAPTER    XIII. 

THE     THREE     PRESBYTERIES  —  OLD     CUSTOMS     NOW 

DROPPED. 

Three  Presbyteries.  Tokens.  Col.  Joe  Brown's  case.  Fencing 
the  table.  Elders  in  presbytery.  Extended  fields.  Fast  days. 
A  three-fold  plan.  Plans  for  securing  and  supporting  itiner- 
ants. Final  failure  of  this  system.  Origin  of  the  name,  Cum- 
berland Presbyterian.  Presbyterial  libraries.  Preaching  on  a 
call  to  the  ministry.  Demand  for  preachers  ia  new  fields. 
Catechising.  Necessity  for  a  school  discussed.  Prejudice 
against  statistics.  Camp-meetings  in  neglected  neighborhoods. 
The  doctrines  preached, 109-119 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

HISTORIC  CHURCHES— PLANTING  CHURCHES  IN  TEN- 
NESSEE AND  KENTUCKY. 

Red  River  church,  Kentucky.  Gasper  River.  Beech  church, 
Tennessee.  Big  Spring.  Thomas  Calhoun's  pastorate.  Smyr- 
na. New  Hope.  Mt.  Moriah.  Goshen.  Origin  of  the  Nash- 
ville church,   120-127 


CHAPTER  XV. 

EARLY  MISSIONS  TO  THE  INDIANS. 

Proximity  of  the  Indians.  Qiiickening  of  the  missionary  spirit. 
Indians  at  camp-meetings.  Mission  work  by  the  presbyteries. 
Mission  of  Samuel  King  and  Robert  Bell.  Bell's  Mission  and 
school,  1820.  Indian  customs.  Traditions  of  the  Tombigbee. 
The  first  Board  of  Missions  for  the  whole  church.  The 
Russellville  church,  Kentucky.  Details  of  Bell's  missionary 
work.  Letter  from  an  Indian  chief.  Mrs.  Bell's  diary.  Re- 
moval of  the  Indians,     End  of  Bell's  mission, 128-141 


xvi  Contents. 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

PLANTING  CHURCHES  IN  THE    NEW  TERRITORIES  OF 

EAST   AND  WEST   TENNESSEE  AND    THE 

KENTUCKY  PURCHASE. 

New  fields.  East  Tennessee.  McGready's  letter  to  East  Ten- 
nessee Presbyterians.  An  ecclesiastical  barrier.  Calhoun  and 
Robert  Donnell  in  East  Tennessee  (1815).  Calhoun's  tour 
the  next  year.  David  Foster.  The  Rev.  J.  S.  Guthrie.  Other 
laborers.  The  Rev.  George  Donnell.  Organization  of  Knox- 
villc  Presbytery.  Hardships.  West  Tennessee.  John  L.  Dil- 
lard  and  the  Rev.  James  McDonnold  first  in  this  field  (1820). 
Richard  Beard  (1S31).  Difficulties.  Camp-meetings.  Or- 
ganization of  Hopewell  Presbytery.  Jackson's  Purchase, 
Kentucky.  B.  H.  Pearson's  labors.  Missionary  work  of 
Logan  Presbytery.  M.  H.  Bone.  Incidents.  Church  growth 
in  Kentucky, 142-154 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

PLANTING  CHURCHES  IN  ALABAMA. 

A  glance  at  the  history  of  Alabama.  Robert  Bell  sent  to  Hunt's 
Spring.  Calhoun.  Robert  Donnell.  Other  laborers.  Circuits. 
South  Alabama.  Efforts  to  form  a  presbytery.  Labors  of 
William  Moore,  Samuel  King,  R.  D.  King  and  Daniel  Patton. 
Tombigbee  Presbytery  organized.  Anecdote  of  R.  D.  King. 
A  sermon  by  William  Moore.  Alabama  Presbytery.  Rem- 
iniscences.    Hindrances, ^S5~^^3 


CHAPTER    XVIII. 

PLANTING  CHURCHES  IN  INDIANA  AND  ILLINOIS. 

Indiana.  William  Harris'  visit.  Missionaries  sent  to  Wabash  and 
Indiana.  Hardships.  Organization  of  Mt.  Zion  church. 
Other  congregations.  Incidents.  Illinois.  First  Cumberland 
Presbyterian  sermon  in  this  territory.  John  Crawford.  Inci- 
dents.    Green  P.  Rice.     First  Illinois  camp-meeting.     D.  W. 


Contents.  xvii 

McLin.  Second  camp-meeting.  Chapman's  missionary  tour. 
Sparse  settlements.  Hardships.  Ilhnois  Presbytery  organ- 
ized. Comparison  of  church  growth  in  Indiana  and  Il- 
linois,      164-17^ 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

PLANTING  THE  CHURCH  IN  MISSOURI  AND  ARKANSAS, 

1811-1829. 

First  Cumberland  Presbyterian  sermon  in  Missouri.  Daniel  Buie. 
R.  D.  Morrow  sent  to  Missouri.  J.  T.  A.  Henderson's  boy- 
hood home.  Morrow's  second  trip  to  Missouri.  McGee 
Presbytery  organized.  Finis  Ewing  in  Missouri.  "School  of 
the  Prophets."  Labors  of  R.  D.  King  and  Reuben  Burrow. 
A  home  supply  of  preachers.  Pioneer  missionaries:  Robert 
Sloan,  Archibald  McCorkle,  H.  R.  Smith,  Frank  M.  Braly. 
Anecdote  of  Braly.  A.  A.  Young.  Daniel  Patton.  Adventure 
of  William  Blackwell.  Arkansas.  Emigration  thither  of  the 
Pyatts  and  Carnahans.  John  Carnahan's  circuit.  Ordination 
of  Carnahan.  The  first  sacramental  meeting  in  Arkansas.  In- 
cidents. An  "  intermediate "  session  of  McGee  Presbytery. 
Labors  of  R.  D.  King  and  Reuben  Burrow.  Camp-meet 
ings.  Sickness.  Return  of  Burrow  and  Kine  to  Missouri. 
Arkansas  Presbytery.  Settlement  of  Cane  Hill.  The  Buch- 
anans. Cane  Hill  College.  Bands  of  robbers.  Guilford 
Pylant, 175-200 


CHAPTER   XX. 

THE  COLLEGE— THE   GENERAL  ASSEMBLY— SUMMARY 
OF  WHAT  HAD  BEEN  DONE. 

Nee'd  of  a  college  recognized.  Plan  adojoted.  Details.  Dr. 
C'ossltt.  Expediency  of  oi"ganizing  a  General  Assembly  dis- 
cussed, 1833.  Reasons  for  delay.  Last  meeting  of  the  Gen- 
eral Synod.  List  of  the  presbyteries  and  original  members. 
Four  synods  formed.     The  synodlcal  period, 201-206 

2 


xviii  Contents. 


THIRD   PERIOD. 

FROM  THE  ORGANIZATION  OF  THE  GENERAL  ASSEMBLY 

TO  THE  REMOVAL  OF  CUMBERLAND  COLLEGE, 

1S29  TO   1S42. 


CHAPTER    XXI. 

GENERAL  SURVEY. 

The  transition  period.  State  of  the  church.  Changed  times. 
Progress.  Mistakes.  The  college.  Home  missionary  prog- 
ress. Statistics.  Revivals.  Camp-meetings.  Appeal  cases. 
Samuel  King's  tour  among  the  churches.  Temperance.  Fra- 
ternal intercourse  v^-ith  other  churches.  A  theological  school 
demanded.  Church  growth.  Change  from  missionaiy  evan- 
gelists to  pastorates.  New  presbyteries  and  synods.  Finan- 
cial troubles, 207-213 

CHAPTER    XXII. 
THE  FIRST  CUMBERLAND  PRESBYTERLVN  COLLEGE. 

Outward  and  internal  history.  A  manual  labor  institution.  The 
college  located  at  Princeton,  Ky.  Buildings.  Debts.  Lease 
of  Barnett  and  Shelby.  Cholera.  Barnett's  lease  surrendered. 
A  stock  company  formed.  Threats.  Reviving  hope,  followed 
by  failure.  The  Assembly  decides  to  select  a  new  location. 
Lebanon,  Tenn.,  chosen.  Report  of  the  Commissioners.  Pio- 
test  of  the  friends  of  Princeton.  Resolution  against  the  control 
of  pecuniary  matters  by  the  Assembly.  Cumberland  College 
after  "the  removal."  Internal  history.  A  homespun  costume 
prescribed.  Refectory  and  dormitories.  Presidents.  Pro- 
fessoi's.  Dr.  Beard's  administration.  Dr.  Azel  Freeman. 
Alumni, 214-22S 

CHAPTER   XXIII. 

THE  CHURCH  PAPER. 

Origin  of  the  Rcliglozis  and  Literary  l7itclUgc}iccr.  David  Lowry. 
The    paper    moved    to    Nashville.      Sold    to    James    Smith. 


Contents.  xix 

Smith's  multiplied  labors.  The  paper  becomes  the  Cutnber- 
land  Presbyterian.  Hopeless  indebtedness.  T.  C.  Anderson, 
assistant  editor.  Efforts  to  increase  the  circulation.  Smith's 
agreement  with  the  Assembly.  Editorial  denunciations.  No 
General  Assembly,  1S39.  Convention  at  Nashville.  Its  action. 
Smith's  Ciitnberland  Presbyterian  at  Springfield,  Tenn.  He 
denounces  the  convention.  Strife  and  division.  Smith's  col- 
lege at  Springfield.  The  Banner  of  Peace.  Action  of  the 
Assembly,  1840.  Smith's  subsequent  course.  Preachers  who 
have  joined  the  Presbyterians, 229-241 


CHAPTER    XXIV. 

THE  TRANSITION  FROM  MISSIONARY  EVANGELISTS 
TO  PAID  PASTORS. 

Self-denying  missionaries.  Opposition  to  settled  pastors.  Pro- 
posed abolition  of  pastorates,  1830.  Action  of  West  Tennes- 
see Synod.  Misconceptions.  Pastors  and  evangelists.  Cal- 
houn's testimony.  False  ideas  of  "  supporting  the  gospel." 
Two  anecdotes  of  Dr.  A.  J.  Baird.  Wrong  training.  Rob- 
bing pastors.  Meager  pay  of  circuit  riders.  The  credit  sys- 
tem.    The  scriptural  method, 242-253 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

THE  CHURCH  IN  MISSISSIPPI  AND  LOUISIANA. 

Bell's  Mission.  Bad  character  of  settlers  in  the  Indian  country. 
Anecdote  of  a  slave  trader.  An  Indian  comment  on  the 
Bankrupt  Law.  Removal  of  the  Indians  from  Mississippi. 
Rush  of  settlers.  "Seizing  the  golden  opportunity."  Temp- 
tations. Religious  apostasy.  Isaac  Shook's  testimony.  For- 
mation of  Mississippi  Presbytery.  Shook's  meetings  at  Co- 
lumbus. Denominational  progress  in  Mississippi.  Mississippi 
Synod  organized.  Presbyteries.  Mississippi  preachers.  An- 
ecdote of  R.  L.  Ross.  Louisiana.  First  congregation  organ- 
ized.    Louisiana  Presbytery, 253-262 


XX  Contents. 

CHAPTER    XXVI. 

PLANTING  THE  CHUECH  IN  TEXAS. 

American  colonist  in  Texas.  Sumner  Bacon.  Bacon  in  Texas. 
Attacked  by  ruffians.  First  Texas  camp-meeting.  Bacon's 
work.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Chase.  Bacon's  ordination.  A.  J.  Mc- 
Gown.  San  Jacinto.  Texas  Presbytery  formed.  Robert  Tate. 
Samuel  W.  Frazier.  James  McDonnold.  Work  of  R.  O. 
Watkins.  Other  helpers.  Darkness  followed  by  revival. 
Table  of  dates, 263-272 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

ORIGIN  OF  THE  CHURCH  IN  PENNSYLVANIA. 

The  Rev.  Jacob  Lindley.  Visit  of  M.  H.  Bone  and  John  W. 
Ogden.  Request  of  Presbyterians  in  Washington  County, 
Pa.  Action  of  the  Assembly.  Arrival  of  the  missionaries. 
Morgan's  account.  Morgan's  first  sermon  in  Pennsylvania. 
First  meetings,  and  their  results.  Formation  of  the  first  Cum- 
berland Presbyterian  church  in  this  State.  The  first  camp- 
meeting.  An  incident.  Anecdote  of  Burrow  and  Donnell. 
Bryan  at  Pittsburg.  Formation  of  a  presbytery.  LeRoy 
Woods'  work.  Jacob  Lindley's  testimony.  The  Carmichaels 
church.  Uniontown.  Hopewell.  J.  T.  A.  Henderson. 
Brownsville.  Bryan  at  Meadville.  Pittsburg.  Anecdote  of 
Bryan.  Death  of  Morgan.  The  Ufiion  and  Eva7igclist. 
Pennsylvania  Synod  formed, 273-391 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

ORIGIN  OF  THE  CHURCH  IN  OHIO. 

Visit  of  Bone  and  Ogden.  Morgan's  visit  to  Athens.  His  return. 
Result  of  his  labors.  Morgan's  Ohio  Camp- meeting.  Inci- 
dents. Our  first  church  in  Ohio.  Beverly.  Mr.  Lindley's 
labors  there.  Senecaville.  A  circus  incident.  Cumberland, 
Ohio.  Lebanon.  The  Rev.  F.  G.  Black's  work.  The  Coving- 
ton church.     Our  church  in  Ohio, 292-300 


Contents,  xxi 

CHAPTER  XXIX. 

MISCELLANEOUS    SKETCHES  AND  INCIDENTS. 

Revival  at  Bowling  Green,  Kentucky.  A  Kentucky  camp-meet- 
ing. A  sample  church  under  the  supply  system.  Anecdote  of 
Hugh  B.  Hill.  "Stars  falling."  Beginnings  of  Cane  Hill 
College,  Arkansas.  Anecdotes  of  John  Buchanan  and  T.  C. 
Anderson.  Duelling  condemned  by  the  Missouri  Synod. 
Andrew  Jackson  and  J.  M.  Berry.  Conversion  of  an  infidel 
woman.     Anecdote  of  R.  D.  King, 301-309 


FOURTH  PERIOD. 

^ROM    THE    "REMOVAL"    OF    THE     COLLEGE     TO     THE 
ST.  LOUIS  ASSEMBLY,  1S42  TO   1S61. 


CHAPTER   XXX. 


A  GENERAL  SURVEY. 


Progress.  Records  of  the  General  Synod  and  Assembly.  Opening 
sermon  of  the  Assembly  of  1843,  by  Milton  Bird.  No  Assem- 
bly in  1S44.  The  Assembly  of  1845.  Organization  of  the 
Board  of  Missions.  Work  of  this  board.  A  Committee  on 
Publication.  A  new  Publishing  Committee,  1847.  Its  work 
at  Louisville.  Transferred  to  Nashville  1858.  Our  Hymn- 
book  history.  The  Board  of  Church  Extension.  Fraternal 
correspondence.  Relations  with  the  New  School  church. 
With  the  Old  School.  Efforts  to  secure  a  history  of  the 
chiu'ch.  Fast  days.  A  last  message  from  Robert  Donnell. 
Colleges.     New  synods  and    presbyteries, 310-321 


CHAPTER  XXXr. 

MISSIONS— 1843-1860. 

Missions  in  the  new  Territories.     City  missions.     David  Lowry's 
mission  to  the  Winnebagoes.     Cumberland   Presbyterian  mis- 


xxii  CONTKNTS. 

slonaries  under  the  American  Board.  David  Lowry's  visit  to 
the  Choctaw  country,  1S54.  His  report.  R.  W.  Baker's  work. 
Armstrong  Academy.  Burney  Academy.  Faithfuhiess  of 
R.  S.  Bell  and  Mrs.  Bell.  Letters  from  Israel  and  George 
Folsom.  The  Foreign  work.  Edmond  Weir  in  Liberia.  His 
visit  to  America,  1S57.  Discouragements.  Other  foreign 
fields  discussed.  Candidates.  J.  C.  Armstrong  appointed 
missionary  to  Turkey, 3-^-335 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 

PLANTING  THE  CHURCH  IN  THE  NORTH-WEST— IOWA 
AND  OTHER  FIELDS. 

David  Lowry's  work.  Church  organized  in  Joseph  Howard's 
house.  J.  G.  White  in  Iowa.  The  first  Iowa  camp-meeting. 
Iowa  Presbytery  formed.  Neil  Johnson's  labor.  Ruflianism. 
David  Lowry's  missionary  plan  for  the  North -vv'est.  J.  C. 
Armstrong's  work  in  Iowa.  A  camp-meeting.  Ahorse  racer 
converted.  Waukon.  P.  H.  Crider.  A  letter  from  Armstrong. 
Organization  of  Colesburg  Presbytery.  Hardships  and  dan- 
gers. Our  meager  Strength  in  Iowa.  Other  North-western 
States, 33<^34i 


CHAPTER   XXXIII. 

OREGON  AND  CALIFORNIA,  1S44-1S60. 

Gold  ana  God's  providence.  Oregon.  Difficulties  in  the  way  of 
its  colonization.  Fur  traders.  The  first  settlers.  First  Cum- 
berland Presbyterian  colony  in  Oregon.  J.  E.  Braly.  Crossing 
the  plains.  Whitman's  Station  massacre.  Neil  Johnson's 
journey.  Cholera  on  the  plains.  O-ther  dangers.  Our  first 
Oregon  congregation.  Oregon  Presbytery.  Efforts  to  estab- 
lish a  college.  Jacob  Gillespie.  Self-sacrificing  missionaries. 
Presbyteries.  Acquisition  of  California.  Gold.  Transient 
settlements.  Mixed  population.  An  unfaithful  missionary. 
Others  who  were  faithful.  John  E.  Braly.  Letter  from  T. 
A.  Ish.  Cornelius  Yager.  Linvillc  Dooley.  Anecdote  of  E. 
C.  Latta.     Orcjanization  of  California  Presbytery.     Mushroom 


Contents.  xxiii 

churches.  Mountain  View  church.  J.  M.  Small  at  Napa 
City.  Pacific  Presbytery.  Cumberland  College  at  Sonoma. 
T.  AI.  Johnson  and  the  Pacijic  Observer.  D.  E.  Bushneirs 
testimony.  Johnson,  a  peace-maker.  P'ascinating  opportu- 
nities. Difficulties  and  advantages.  Our  California  presby- 
teries.    Idaho, 343-356 


CHAPTER    XXXIV. 

SUNDRY  SMALL  BEGINNINGS— NORTH  CAROLINA, 
.    WEST  VIRGINIA,  GEORGIA,  KANSAS. 

Visit  of  Reuben  Burrow  and  Robert  Donnell  to  North  Carolina. 
Feeble  beginnings  abandoned.  West  Virginia.  Our  work  in 
Georgia.  A.  Templeton  and  Z.  M.  McGhee.  A  war  anecdote. 
Georgia  Presbytery.  The  political  struggle  in  Kansas.  Letter 
from  an  emigrant.  Round  Prairie  church.  Kansas  Presbytery. 
Leavenworth  Presbytery.     Missionaries.     Presbyteries, .    .  357-361 


CHAPTER   XXXV. 

MISCELLANEOUS. 

Concentration.  Mushroom  colleges.  Theological  school.  Dis- 
agreement. Theological  School  of  Bethel  College.  Action 
of  the  Assembly.  Dr.  Burrow's  teachings.  A  living  question. 
Missions.  Fear  of  centralization.  Proposed  consolidation  of 
newspapers.  Arguments  pro  and  con.  Books.  Crisman's 
Origin  and  Doctrines.  Dillard's  Reply  to  Lewis  A.  Lowry. 
Cossitt's  Life  and  Times  of  Ewing.  Anderson's  Life  of  Don- 
nell. Beard's  Theology.  Dr.  Beard  as  a  theologian.  Contro- 
versies. Dr.  Burrow's  departures  from  the  traditional  faith. 
Decay  of  camp-meetings.  Church  trials.  Profitless  contro- 
versies,        362-372 


CHAPTER   XXXVI. 

SKETCHES  AND  INCIDENTS. 

The  Memphis  church.     Anecdote  of  Matthew  PI.  Bone  and  Hugh 
B.  Hill.     Story  of  Benjamin  Watson.     Facts  from  P.  G.  Rea's 


xxiv  Contents. 

History  of  New  Lebanon  Presbytery.  Compensation  of 
preachers.  Anecdote  of  James  Johnson.  An  Indian's  con- 
version. A  mother's  Sunday-school.  A  discouraged  teacher. 
Anecdote  of  M.  II.  Bone  and  F.  G.  Black.  Story  of  a  stam- 
mering preacher, 373~379 


FIFTH  PERIOD. 

FROM  THE  BEGINNING  OF  THE  CIVIL   WAR  TO  THE 
WARRENSBTJRG  ASSEMBLY,   iS6i  TO   1870. 


CHAPTER   XXXVII. 

TEN  ASSEMBLIES,   1S61-1870. 

Presbyteries,  North  and  South.  Location  of  church  boards. 
Representatives  in  the  Assembly  of  1861.  Reports  of  boards. 
Assembly  of  1S62.  Southern  presbAteries  unrepresented. 
Temporary  Committees  on  Missions  and  Publication.  Re-or- 
ganization of  these  committees  in  1863.  Removal  of  publish- 
ing interests  to  Pittsburg.  Assemblies  of  1864  and  1865. 
State  of  things  in  the  South.  The  Chattanooga  Convention. 
Missionary  committee.  Convention  at  Selma,  Ala.  Letter 
from  Milton  Bird.  The  Southern  Observe?-.  Alemphis  Con- 
vention. Assembly  of  1866.  A  general  fast  day.  Missionary 
boards.  Re-organization  of  the  Board  of  Publication  at 
Nashville.  Prop  )sed  Organic  Union  with  Southern  Presby- 
terians. Conference  of  committees.  Result.  Proposed  re- 
vision of  form  of  government.  Consolidation  of  missionary 
boards.  Controversy  about  the  plans  of  the  Board  of  Mis- 
sions. Action  of  the  Assembly  of  1870.  Abolition  of  the 
synod  discussed.     Church  periodicals.     New  presbyteries,  3S0-390 


CHAPTER   XXXVIII. 

THE  WAR  RECORD. 

Assemblies  and  Conventions.     Milton  Bird's  opening  sermon,  1S61. 
Resolutions.     Resolutions  adopted  in  1862  and  in  1863.     Deliv- 


Contents.  xxv 

erance  of  1864.  Protest.  Action  in  1S65.  Position  of  South- 
ern Cumberland  Presbyterians.  Tlie  Chattanooga  Convention. 
DeHverance  of  the  Assembl}^  of  1S66.  Action  of  Pennsylvania 
Synod.  Of  the  Assembly  at  Memphis,  1S67.  At  Lincoln, 
1S6S.  Relations  of  Cumberland  Presbvterians  to  slavery. 
Finis  Ewing's  views.  McAdow.  Ephraim  McLean.  Robert 
Donnell's  prayer.  Testimony  of  Dr.  Beard's  diary.  Atypical 
case.  The  Revivalist  on  slavery.  Testimony  of  the  Cum- 
berland Presbyterian,  1S35.  Changes  wrought  by  political 
agitation.  Action  of  the  Assemblies  of  1S48  and  1851.  Pres- 
ent attitude  of  the  church.     Its  Southern  membership,    ,    ,  391-419 


CHAPTER  XXXIX. 
PREACHING  TO  SOLDIERS. 

Chaplains.  Army  missionaries.  Methods  of  vrork  by  chaplains. 
Their  trying  duties.  Denominations  forgotten.  Work  in  the 
Union  armies.  Labors  of  A.  W.  White  and  G.  N.  Mattox. 
A.  G.  Osborne.  H.  H.  Ashmore.  Hiram  A.  Hunter.  J.  W. 
Woods.  S.  Richards.  The  Southern  army.  Resolutions 
adopted  by  Southern  chaplains.  Revival  in  Bragg's  army. 
Death  of  George  L.  Winchester.  Cumberland  Presbyterian 
Committee  on  army  missions.  J.  L.  Cooper.  Nightly  serv- 
ices during  Johnston's  retreat.  A  picket  incident.  Other 
incidents.  Hardships  of  Southern  chaplains.  ]M.  B.  DeWitt. 
A.  G.  Burrow.     Revival  in  the  Southern  armies,      ....  430-431 


CHAPTER  XL. 

COLORED  CUMBERLAND  PRESBYTERIANS. 

Order  of  things  before  the  war.  An  illustrative  case.  Colored 
people  at  camp-meetings.  Colored  preachers  before  the  war. 
The  change  wrought  by  the  war.  Conventions  of  colored 
Cumberland  Presbyterians  at  Henderson,  Kentucky,  and 
Huntsville,  Alabama.  Action  at  Murfreesboro,  May  1869. 
A  separate  organization.  A  colored  commissioner  at  the  As- 
sembly of  1870.  Progress  of  colored  Cumberland  Presbyte- 
rians. Their  General  Assembly.  School  at  Bowling  Green, 
Kentucky.  Our  duty  to  the  colored  people.  Letter  of  J.  F. 
Humphrey, 432-439 


xxvi  Contents. 

CHAPTER    XLI. 

MISSIONS— 186(^1870. 

Missions  in  towns  and  cilics.  Itinerant  missionaries.  New  Territories 
entered.  R.  S.  Bell's  work  among  the  Indians.  Liberia  and 
Turkey.  Gloomy  letters  from  Edmond  Weir.  His  second 
visit  to  America.  Abandonment  of  the  Liberia  mission.  J. 
C.  Armstrong's  mission  to  Turkey.  His  voyage  to  England. 
Arrival  at  Constantinople.  Greek  Christians  from  Brusa 
Troubles.  Providential  relief.  Work  done  by  Armstrong. 
His  illness  and  return  to  America, 440-447 


SIXTH  PERIOD. 

FROM  THE  ASSEMBLY   AT  WARRENSBURG,  MISSOURI,  TO 
THE  ASSEMBLY  AT  COVINGTON,  OHIO,  1S70  TO  i8S7. 


CHAPTER  XLII. 

SEVERAL  GENERAL  ASSEMBLIES. 

Growing  spirit  of  unity.  Quarterly  collections.  Day  of  prayer 
for  colleges.  Need  of  ministers.  Death  of  Milton  Bird. 
John  Frizzcll  elected  stated  clerk.  Discussion  of  the  revised 
Form  of  Governnient.  Proposition  for  organic  union  with 
Northern  Presbyterians.  Proposed  terms  of  union.  Response 
of  the  Presbyterian  committee.  Result.  False  ideas.  Visit 
of  James  Morrison  and  Fergus  Ferguson.  Anecdote  of  Fer- 
guson. Corresponding  delegates.  Address  of  J.  S.  Hays  of 
the  Northern  Presbyterian  church.  Old  School  Presbyterian 
delegates.  Assembly  at  Jefferson,  Texas.  Other  Assemblies. 
General  Superintendent  of  Sunday-schools.  M.  B.  DeWitt 
succeeded  by  J.  H.  W^irren.  Address  of  Dr.  E.  D.  Morris, 
1879.  Semi-centennial  meeting.  The  Woman's  Board.  Its 
work.  A  Woman's  Board  in  181S.  Negotiations  concerning 
organic  union  with  Evangelical  Lutherans.  Important  meas- 
ures adopted  in  1881.  Revised  Confession  of  Faith  approved, 
1882.  Vote  of  the  presbyteries.  T.  C.  Blake  elected  stated 
clerk.    John  Frizzell  the  first  elder  moderator.     The  Assembly 


Contents.  xxvii 

at  Bentonville,  Arkansas.  Dancing  condemned.  Consolida- 
tion of  papers.  Board  of  Ministerial  Relief.  New  books. 
History  of  the  Presbyterian  Alliance  and  the  relations  of 
Cumberland  Presbyterians  with  it.  Death  of  Dr.  A.J.  Baird. 
New  synods  and  presbyteries.  Statistics.  Freedom  from 
proselyting, 44S-46S 


CHAPTER  XLIII. 

MISSIONS. 

Progress.  City  missions.  Our  work  in  St.  Louis.  Mission  at 
Little  Rock,  Ark.  Kansas  City,  and  Sedalia,  Mo.  Logansport, 
Ind.  Chattanooga,  Tenn.  Other  missions.  Successful  ad- 
ministration of  the  board's  affairs.  Importance  of  Home 
Missions.  Indian  missions.  Bethel  Presbytery.  Work  among 
the  Cherokees.  Foreign  Missions.  Action  of  the  Assembly 
1S70-1S73.  Dr.  S.  T.  Anderson  sent  to  the  Island  of  Trinidad. 
History  of  his  work.  His  return.  J.  B.  and  A.  D.  Hail  ac- 
cepted as  candidates.  The  Japan  mission.  M.  L.  Gordon. 
The  Hail  brothers.  J.  B.  Hail  in  Osaka,  Japan,  1S77.  Beginning 
work.  A.  D.  Hail  joins  h's  brother,  October,  1S7S.  The  first 
sermon.  Interest  in  the  work.  Diinculties.  A  Sunday-school 
organized.  First  baptism  and  communion  service.  Fruits  at 
home.  The  Woman's  Board.  Extending  work.  Denomina- 
tional literature.  Arrival  of  Misses  Orr  and  Leavitt.  "Denarii 
boxes."  "A  woman's  meeting."  The  Osaka  church.  Mis- 
sionary conference,  1SS3.  A  great  revival.  Scattered  member- 
ship. Elders.  Principles  governing  the  work.  Arrival  of 
Mrs.  A.  M.  Drennan.  The  Wilmina  School.  Other  labors  of 
Mrs.  Drennan.  Corca.  Growing  fruits.  Organization  of 
congregations.  Chin-ches  built.  A  native  council  or  pres- 
byteiy.  Work  of  Miss  Orr.  Arrival  of  Miss  Duffield. 
Wakayama.  Miss  Leavitt's  work.  Shingu.  Schools.  Jap- 
anese young  men  in  America.  Arrival  of  G.  E.  Hudson  and 
wife  and  Miss  Rena  Rczncr,  December,  1SS6.  Members  of 
the  mission.  Benefits  of  denominational  work.  Co-operation 
with  other  churches.  The  Mexican  mission.  Appointment 
of  the  Rev.  A.  H.  W^hatley.  His  preparatory  visit  to  Mexico. 
Aguas  Calientes.  Needs  of  the  work.  Plans  of  the  board. 
Conseciation  of  F.  P.  Lawyer.  Dr.  Bell's  lectures.  The 
Missionary  Record.     General  remarks, 469-50S 


xxviii  Contents. 

CHAPTER  XLIV. 

CUMBERLAND    UNIVERSITY— 1S42-1SS7. 

"Removal"  of  the  college.  R.  L.  Caruthers.  Trustees.  The 
first  faculty.  A  University  charter.  The  buildings.  Obliga- 
tions to  teachers.  T.  C.  Anderson  made  president,  1845. 
Free  tuition  to  candidates  for  the  ministr}-.  Free  boarding. 
Endowment.  J.  M.  McMurray's  work.  The  law  depart- 
ment. Other  departments.  Higli  grade  of  scholarship. 
Extension  of  buildings.  President  Anderson's  administration. 
The  theological  department.  Dr.  Beard.  The  University 
closed  by  the  war.  Buildings  burned.  '•^  Resurgain.'''  Re- 
opening of  the  school.  Purchase  of  the  Caruthers  j^roperty. 
Prejudice  and  ill-feeling.  Dr.  McDonnold's  presidency.  How 
the  work  was  sustained.  Gifts  to  the  University.  "Camp 
Blake."  Preparatoiy  schools.  The  life  insurance  plan.  The 
disaster  it  brought.  Nathan  Green  made  chancellor.  Progress. 
Buildings.  Relation  of  the  theological  school  to  the  Univer- 
sity. Education  of  young  women.  List  of  members  of  the 
faculty.  The  law  school.  Endowment.  Duty  of  men  of 
wealth, 509-536 


CHAPTER  XLV. 

WAYNESBURG      COLLEGE  — LINCOLN      UNIVERSITY 
TRINITY  UNIVERSITY. 

Three  educational  centers.  Efforts  to  establish  denominational 
schools  in  Pennsylvania  and  Ohio.  Action  of  Pennsylvania 
Synod,  1838.  Greene  Academy.  Madison  College.  Anecdote 
of  John  Morgan.  J.  P.  Weethee's  work  in  Madison  College. 
Beverlv  College.  ]\Ir.  Wecthee  president.  Expected  results 
not  realized.  Beginnings  of  Waynesburg  College.  The  build- 
ing. First  graduates.  Charter.  Professors.  Joshua  Lough- 
ran  the  first  president.  J-  P-  Weethee  becomes  jd resident. 
DiiTicultics.  Mr.  Weethee's  resignation.  President  pro  tern, 
and  faculty.  A.  B.  Miller  made  president.  Dr.  Miller's  labors. 
Mrs.  Miller.  Graduates.  Teachers  trained  at  Waynesburg. 
A  new  building.  Endo\vmcnt.  Religious  influence,  ^"alue 
of  Wavnesburg  College.  Lincoln  University.  Early  efforts 
to  found  schools.     Influence  of  j^ublic  schools.     Effect  of  the 


Contents.  xxix 

civil  war.  Action  of  Indiana  Synod.  Commissioners  ap- 
pointed. Tlie  scliool  located  at  Lincoln.  The  charter.  En- 
dowment. The  building.  The  first  faculty.  Dr.  Freeman's 
presidency.  Dr.  Bowdon  his  successor.  Death  of  Dr.  Bow- 
don.  Dr.  McGlumphy  made  president.  Law  and  theological 
departments.  Losses  and  difficulties.  Resignation  of  Dr. 
McGlumphy.  Graduates.  Standard  of  scholarship.  Pro- 
fessors. Trustees.  Endowing  agents.  Work  of  the  Univer- 
sity. A  new  faculty.  List  of  teachers  and  professors.  Value 
of  property.  Trinity  University.  Compromise  for  the  sake 
of  concentration.  Origin  of  Trinity  University.  Points  com- 
peting for  the  location.  Tehuacana  selected.  Dr.  Beeson 
president.  Opening  of  the  school.  Wild  lands  as  en- 
dowment. Buildings.  The  first  catalogue.  Dr.  Beeson's  res- 
ignation. Death  of  Dr.  McLesky,  his  successor.  L.  A.  Johnson 
elected  president.  Importance  of  Trinity  University.  E.  B. 
Crisman,  endowing  agent.  Valuable  work  done  by  this  institu- 
tion.    The  scholarship  halter, 527-^^4 

CHAPTER  XLVI. 
OTHER  SCHOOLS  AND  COLLEGES. 

The  spirit  of  education  among  Cumberland  Presbyterians.  Our 
pioneer  schools.  Reports  and  resolutions  adopted  by  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly.  A  graded  system  recommended.  Warnin^-s 
against  the  multiplication  of  schools.  Number  of  schools  in 
1S49.  In  1S56.  List  of  colleges  in  1860!  Effect  of  the  war. 
McGee  College.  Greeneville  Seminary  for  Young  Ladies. 
Greenwood  Seminary.  Union  Female  College.  Cumberland 
Female  College.  Bethel  College.  Cane  Hill  College.  Ward's 
Seminary.  Spring  Hill  Institute.  Loudon  High  vSchool. 
Educational  work  in  Missouri.  Reflections  on  the  evils  of 
cheap  scholarships, S55~^7^ 

CHAPTER  XLVII. 

PUBLICATION,  NEWSPAPERS,  REVISION,  AND  TEM- 
PERANCE. 

Publication.  Use  of  the  prmtmg  press  The  first  edition  of  the 
Confession      Plan  of  Cumberland  Collesre.     Ewine's  lectures. 


XXX  Contents. 

Ilymn-book  committee.  Publishing  Association.  The  Louis- 
ville Board.  Dr.  Bird  president,  agent,  and  editor.  Suc- 
ceeded by  Le  Roy  Woods.  Jesse  Anderson,  Woods'  suc- 
cessor. Work  dune  at  Louisville.  Committee  of  Publication 
at  Nashville.  W.  S.  Langdon,  general  agent.  The  board 
chartered.  Loans  and  donations.  Work  transferred  to  Pitts- 
burg. S.  T.  Stewart,  agent.  Re-organization  of  the  board  at 
Nashville.  J.  C.  Provine,  book  editor  and  publishing  agent. 
W.  E.  Dunavvay,  agent.  T.  C.  Blake,  financial  agent.  M.  B. 
DeWitt,  financial  agent  and  book  editor.  Purchase  of  the 
Sunday-School  Gem  and  Theological  Medium.  Consolidation  of 
church  papers.  Sunday-school  publications.  T.  C.  Blake, 
business  manager,  1874-78.  J.  M.  Gaut,  i878-'8o.  T.  M. 
Hurst,  iS8o-'86.  Jno.  D.  Wilson,  18S6.  Financial  struggles. 
Efforts  to  secure  a  church  history.  A  digest.  Hymn  and 
tune  book.  Dr.  W^.  E.  Ward.  List  of  members  of  the  board. 
Newspapers.  Banner  of  Peace.  Church  papers  in  Pennsyl- 
vania. Cumberland  Presbyterian  Pttlpit.  The  Ark.  The 
Texas  Presbyterian.  Texas  Cutnbcrlattd  Presbyterian. 
Texas  Observer.  The  Watchman  and  Evangelist.  Papers 
in  Missouri  and  Illinois.  The  Ladies''  Pearl.  The  Pacijic 
Observer.  The  Theological  JMedium.  Revision  of  the  Con- 
fession of  Faith,  18:^3-1883.  Faults  of  our  first  Confession. 
Action  in  i8.';3.  Committee  on  Revision,  1853.  Its  repoit  dis- 
cussed and  rejected,  18:^4.  Unsuccessful  efforts  to  revise  the 
Form  of  Government,  1867-74.  History  of  the  new  Confession 
of  Faith.  Improvements  and  defects.  John  L.  Dillard's  testi- 
mony. Temperance.'  Action  of  Elk  Presb}tery,  1S16.  Po- 
sition of  church  papers.  Le  Roy  Woods  in  the  Indiana 
legislature,  i8:;5.  Temperance  deliverances  by  the  General 
Assembly.  David  Lowry's  testimony.  Anecdote  of  J.  M. 
Berry, 577-^09 


CHAPTER   XLVIII. 

NEW    FIELDS— EVANGELISTS— PROGRESS— RE- 
FLECTIONS. 

Inadequate  Home  Mission  funds.  Organization  of  Rocky  Mount- 
ain Presbytery.  Colorado.  Colorado  Springs.  Pueblo,  ^'isit 
of  J.  Cal   Littrell  to  New  Mexico.     Nebraska.     Indian  diffi- 


Contents.  xxxi 

culties.  Overland  Express  Comj^anies.  R.  S.  Reed's  account 
of  the  work  in  Nebraska  City  and  elsewhere.  Another  ac- 
count. Formation  of  Nebraska  Presbytery  Nebraska  statistics. 
Washington  Territory.  H.  W.  Eagan  at  Walla  Walla.  A. 
W.  Sweeny's  rccortl  of  the  work.  Statistics.  Evangelists. 
R.  G.  Pearson  and  Dixon  C.  Williams.  Anecdote  of  R.  J. 
Sims.  Our  first  evangelist.  Lay  evangelists.  Evangelistic 
work  among  the  Choctaws.  A.  P.  Stewart.  An  old  preach- 
er's estimate  of  Dixon  C.  Williams.  Our  denominational  prog- 
ress. Increase  in  numbers.  Lack  of  candidates  for  the  ministry. 
"Heresy  of  the  pocket."  Regular  pastors.  Theological  school. 
Comparison  with  Presbyterians.  John  L.  Dillard's  view.  De- 
cline in  spirituality.  General  reflections.  The  author's  unre- 
corded impressions.  Cumberland  Presbj'terian  doctrine  in  the 
Presbyterian  church.  The  mission  of  our  church.  Our  debt 
to  the  Presbyterian  church, 610-626 


CHAPTER  XLIX. 

ANECDOTES. 

Sources  from  which  these  anecdotes  are  derived.  Anecdote  of 
Mrs.  Samuel  King.  A  timely  arrival.  A  quarrel  settled  by  a 
song.  Conquered  by  kindness.  Through  head  and  heart. 
Tardiness  cured.  "  The  root  of  the  matter."  Anecdote  of 
R.  D.  Morrow.  Ruling  passion  strong  in  death.  Comfort 
through  faithfulness.  Anecdote  of  F.  M.  Fincher.  A  Mis- 
souri camp-meeting.  A  barn  meeting.  A  trial  and  a  triumph. 
Another  dancing  incident.  A  war  incident.  A  case  of  fast- 
ing and  prayer.  A  gainsayer  converted.  A  band  of  rowdies 
conquered.  The  key-stone  of  the  arch.  A  Presbyterian  elder 
convinced.  A  Christmas  party.  Two  cases  contrasted.  A 
defeat  changed  to  victory.  A  mother's  prayers.  A  Jew  con- 
verted.   L.  C.  Ransom's  discipline.     Presentiment  of  death,  637-644 


LIST  OF  ENGRAVINGS. 


PAGE. 

Portrait  of  Rev.  Finis  Ewing, Frontispiece. 

Map, Facing      i 

Portraits    of    Rev.  Thomas    Calhoun,    Rev.  Robert 

DONNEI.L,    AND     ReV.    R.    D.    MoRROW,   D.D.,      .     .     .     .        "  96 

Portraits    of    Rev.  F.  R.  Cossitt,  D.D.,   Rev.  A.  M. 

Bryan,  D.D.,  and    Rev.  Milton  Bird,  D.D.,    ...      "        241 

Portraits    of    Rev.    R.    O.    Watkins,    Rev.    Reuben 

Burrow,  D.D.,  and    Rev.  J.  B.  Logan,  D.D.,   ...      "        36S 

Portraits  of   Rev.  Richard  Beard,  D.D.,  Rev.  A.  J. 

Baird,  D.D.,  AND   Rev.  S.  G.  Burney,   D.D.,    ...      "        464 

Portrait  of  Rev.  John  Morgan  in  Silhouette   ...      "        529 
(xxxii) 


FIRST  PERIOD. 


CHAPTER  I. 


STATE  OF  THE  COUNTRY. 

In  the  woodlands  rang  their  axes, 
Smoked  their  towns  in  all  the  valleys. 

— Hiazvatha. 

THE  country  called  Cumberland  on  the  accompanying  map 
lay  partly  in  Tennessee  and  partly  in  Kentucky.  Its  south- 
ern boundary  was  the  dividing  ridge  between  Cumberland  and 
Duck  rivers,  in  Tennessee;  its  northern  boundary  was  the  Green 
River,  in  Kentucky.  When  the  Presbyterian  church  divided  one 
of  its  large  presbyteries,  assigning  one  portion  thereof  to  Cumber- 
land, it  gave  the  name  of  the  country  to  the  new  presbyteiy. 
When  this  presbytery  was  engaged  in  exciting  controversies  with 
Kentucky  Synod  about  the  revival  of  1800,  the  people  called  the 
revival  party  "Cumberland  Presbyterians."  When  a  new  church 
grew  out  of  the  revival  party,  the  name  which  the  people  had 
already  given  was  neither  repudiated  nor  formally  adopted,  but  it 
clung  to  the  new  organization.  The  map  belongs  to  a  period  a 
little  earlier  than  the  great  revival  of  1800.  The  shade  lines 
include  the  white  settlements,  while  all  the  rest  of  Tennessee  and 
Kentucky  was  claimed  by  Indians. 

There  was  constant  warfare  with  these  savages.  No  treaty 
could  bind  them.  To  this  day,  Indians  claim  that  a  treaty  with 
their  chiefs  does  not  bind  any  one  except  the  individuals  who  sign 
the  treaty.  Lands  bought  from  them  were  still  claimed  by  those 
who  did  not  sign  the  deed  —  claimed  and  fought  for,  too.  Hence, 
all  these  white  settlers  were  soldiers.     Men  carried  guns  with  them 

(0 


2  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.         [Period  i. 

to  cliurcli.  When  two  men  met  and  stopped  to  talk,  they  stood 
back  to  back,  to  watch  both  directions  for  the  lurking  Indian. 

Men  still  wore  hunting-shirts  and  moccasins.  They  still  wore 
a  belt  in  which  were  carried  a  large  knife  and  a  hatchet. 

Their  skill  with  the  rifle  was  unsurpassed,  but  they  resen,-ed 
their  display  of  it  for  living  heads.  At  a  later  day,  when  powder 
and  ball  were  not  so  precious,  it  is  said  they  would  throw  up  two 
apples  and  put  a  hole  through  both  of  them,  with  one  bullet,  when 
they  crossed  each  other's  path  in  the  air. 

There  were  men  and  women,  too,  in  all  the  settlements,  who 
had  been  scalped  by  the  Indians  and  left  for  dead,  but  had  after- 
ward got  well,  and  lived  to  pay  back  the  debt  of  blood. 

Two  such,  who  afterward  were  actors  in  the  great  revival,  were 
described  to  me  by  an  aged  member  of  their  family  long  ago. 
Their  father  was  named  Daviess,  uncle  of  the  Joe  Daviess  for  whom 
Daviess  County  (Kentucky)  was  named.  He  had  built  his  house  a 
little  distance  from  the  fort  which  then  stood  at  Gilmore's  Lick,  in 
Kentucky.  The  Indians  surprised  him  at  night,  and  took  his  two 
little  children,  son  and  daughter,  prisoners.  He  escaped  in  his 
night-clothes,  and  with  his  utmost  speed  ran  to  the  fort. 

Colonel  Donnelson,  of  Cumberland,  was  then  visiting  the  fort. 
When  he  saw  Daviess  coming  in  his  night  clothing,  he  knew  too 
well  what  that  meant.  He  sprang  instantly  to  his  rifle,  calling  on 
the  men  in  the  fort  to  join  him.  Before  Daviess  had  time  to  tell 
the  whole  story,  they  were  all  in  hot  pursuit,  Daviess  still  in  his 
robe  de  nuit.  Donnelson  knew  that  if  the  Indians  discovered  their 
pursuers  they  would  instantly  kill  the  prisoners,  so  he  and  his  com- 
rades tried  to  slip  up  on  them.  The  barking  of  a  dog  gave  the 
savages  warning,  and  instantly  they  killed,  as  they  supposed,  and 
scalped  the  two  children.  The  baby  girl  was  taken  by  the  heels 
and  dashed  against  a  sapling,  her  scalp  was  torn  off,  and  the  Indians 
fled.  Colonel  Donnelson  took  off  his  own  shirt,  and  bound  up  the 
wounds  of  these  children;  and,  though  they  suffered  long,  they 
ultimately  recovered.  There  were,  at  that  day,  many  such  people 
among  the  sons  of  Cumberland  and  Kentucky. 

All  the  women  knew  how  to  shoot,  and  not  only  knew  how, 
but  most  of  them  had  put  their  knowledge  to  practical  use  in  self- 


Chapter  I.]  STATE  OF  THE  COUNTRY.  3 

defense.  The  memoir  of  Mrs.  Margaret  Hess,  one  of  the  early 
Cumberland  Presbyterians,  who  lived  to  great  age,  tells  how  her 
mother  and  other  ladies  used  their  rifles  in  three  different  bloody 
struggles  against  the  Indians.  Wounded  women  were  no  uncom- 
njon  thing  in  these  settlements. 

All  the  first  generation  of  our  preachers  had  been  in  the  Indian 
wars.  People  who  had  been  prisoners  among  the  Indians,  and 
afterward  either  escaped  or  were  ransomed,  entered  into  the  generll 
mass  of  material  out  of  which  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  church 
grew.  Colonel  Joe  Brown,  who  was  a  Cumberland  Presbyterian 
preacher,  had  for  a  whole  year  been  a  prisoner  in  the  hands  of  the 
Indians.  Nor  was  the  schooling  of  these  pioneers  confined  to  fight- 
ing Indians.  Privations  and  hardships  helped  to  sharpen  their  wits. 
The  first  generation  of  children  were  brought  up  without  "store 
goods."  There  were  no  shoes.  All  the  people,  men  and  women, 
wore  moccasins  made  of  untanned  hides.  Dresses  were  made  of 
thread  spun  from  buffalo  wool  for  the  filling,  and  the  lint  of  the 
wild  nettle  for  the  chain. '  There  were  no  steamboats,  or  railroads, 
or  steam  factories,  then,  in  the  world.  As  to  these  settlements  on 
the  border,  there  were  no  stores,  no  mails,  no  good  wagon  roads, 
only  blazed  pathways.  All  the  books  or  other  luxuries  they  owned 
had  been  carried  on  pack-horses  over  the  mountains,  through  the 
wilderness.  Salt  was  worth  sixteen  dollars  per  bushel.  Iron  was 
equally  dear.  The  country  was  nearly  without  trade  or  money. 
There  was  no  South  then,  to  buy  mules  and  hogs.  That  South 
belonged,  in  part,  to  the  Indians,  and,  in  part,  to  the  Spanish. 
There  were  no  white  settlements  in  what  is  now  West  Tennessee. 
The  buffalo  grazed  quietly  where  Memphis  now  stands. 

The  only  possibility  for  any  trade  at  all  was  either  by  pack- 
horses  to  Philadelphia,  or  by  flatboats  to  New  Orleans.  The  latter 
avenue  was  not  always  open,  whimsical  Spaniards  closing  it  some- 
times, and  always,  when  it  was  open,  charging  an  enormous  toll  on 
every  flatboat.  These  flatboats  could  not  be  brought  back.  The 
traders  sold  them  for  fuel,  and  walked  back  through  the  Indian 
country.  Forty  years  ago  these  old  boatmen  abounded  both  in 
Tennessee  and  Kentucky,  and  the  stories  of  their  adventures  held 

'  Life  of  Mrs.  Hess. 


4  CUMBERI.AND   PRESBYTERIAN   HISTORY.  [Period  I. 

many  a  group  of  children  listening  around  the  happy  hearth-stones 
in  these  then  peaceful  and  prosperous  homes. 

One  incident,  given  in  a  manuscript  history  of  the  Presbyterian 
church  in  East  Tennessee,"  illustrates  the  mail  facilities.  Union 
Presbytery  was  about  issuing  a  circular  letter  to  its  churches,  when 
it  received,  for  the  first  time,  a  copy  of  a  circular  letter  issued  by 
the  General  Assembly  on  the  same  subject  more  than  two  years 
before. 

•This  MS.  was  written  by  R.  B.  McMuIlen,  D.D.,  and  was  loaned  me  by  J.  H. 
Bryson,  D.D.,  of  Huntsville,  Ala.  It  is  a  very  valuable  MS.  What  a  pity  we  have 
not  a  history  of  the  Presbyterian  church  in  the  rest  of  the  State  ! 


Chapter  II.]  LITERATURE  AND  RELIGION. 


CHAPTER   II. 


LITERATURE  AND  RELIGION. 

"  By  heaven,  and  not  a  master  taught !  " — Pope. 

"  His  passage  lies  across  the  brink 
Of  many  a  threatening  wave, 
And  hell  expects  to  see  him  sink, 
But  Jesus  lives  to  save." 

THERE  have  been  highly  educated  men  who  could  not  read. 
In  times  and  countries  where  education  in  the  schools  was 
impossible,  strong  native  intellects  learned  from  men,  from  events, 
from  nature.  Daniel  Boone  wrote,  "Cilled  a  bar,"  and  perhaps 
never  in  his  life  knew  any  better  orthography ;  but  if  a  profound 
knowledge  of  militar)''  strategy,  if  lightning-like  grasp  of  resources 
for  military  emergencies,  if  a  far-seeing  anticipation  of  the  enemy's 
movements,  whether  that  enemy  were  Indian,  French,  or  English, 
if  an  intellect  that  never  made  a  mistake  in  any  of  the  myriad  mil- 
itary emergencies  in  which  it  was  called  to  act,  entitle  a  man  to 
rank  high  among  thinkers,  then  very  few  of  the  sons  of  West  Point 
have  ever  been  his  equals. 

This  education  without  books,  so  common  among  a  people  who 
had  no  possible  chance  of  schooling  in  the  regular  way,  is  never 
found  at  all  in  a  country  where  schools  are  accessible  to  ever>'body. 
The  thriftless  laziness  which  will  not  avail  itself  of  all  the  resources 
in  reach,  neither  in  old  countries  nor  new  ones,  ever  rises  to  the 
rank  of  a  thinker.  All  the  first  settlements  in  Kentucky  and  Ten- 
nessee were  foi  a  while  without  schools.  Circumstances  made 
schools  impossible.  There  were  very  few  books.  Among  the 
treasures  packed  on  horseback  through  the  wilderness  was  the 
family  Bible.  It  made  the  reading  book.  There  were  no  novels. 
A  few  families  had  a  tear-blotted  copy  of  the  Sacred  League  and 
Covenant,  handed  down  for  generations. 

The  first  school  in  Cumberland  was  opened  in  Craighead's  church, 


6  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.         [Period  i. 

six  miles  from  Nashville.  It  was  called  Spring  Hill  Academy,  and 
was  taught  by  a  Presbyterian  minister.'  Among  its  early  pupils 
were  Finis  Ewing,  Samuel  King,  Samuel  McSpeddin,  and  Robert 
Bell,  all  of  them  Cumberland  Presbyterian  ministers  at  a  later  day. 

There  is,  it  is  said,  a  stone  situated  in  the  three  States  of  Vir- 
ginia, North  Carolina,  and  Tennessee.  A  man  seated  on  that 
stone  on  Sabbath  morning,  June,  1773,  might  have  seen  below 
him  in  the  valley  the  first  meeting-house  ever  erected  on  the  soil  of 
Tennessee.^  That  church  was  erected  by  that  hardy  and  glorious 
race,  the  Scotch-Irish  Presbyterians.  The  church  was  of  logs,  40  by 
80  feet.  It  was  covered  with  clapboards.  These  Scotch-Irish  set- 
tlers had  profound  respect  for  the  Sabbath.  Peep  into  their  cabins. 
Every  child  is  in  its  seat,  reciting  the  catechism.  This  is  that  race 
of  whom  the  Irishman  said,  that  when  the  potato  crop  failed  "they 
lived  on  the  Shorter  Catechism  and  the  Sabbath. ' '  Peep  into  their 
cabins  later  in  the  morning.  The  male  members,  and  in  some 
cases  the  female  members  also,  are  taking  down  their  rifles,  prepar- 
atory to  starting  to  church. 

One  hundred  and  thirty-eight  heads  of  families  had  united  in 
calling  the  Rev.  Charles  Cummings  to  come  and  settle  among  them 
as  their  pastor.  ^  He  ministered  to  these  same  people  thirty-nine 
years.  This  man  Cummings  was  the  first  man  who  ever  preached 
in  what  is  now  Tennessee.  His  first  years  in  this  wild  frontier 
were  tracked  with  the  blood  of  Indian  battles.  He  fought  often, 
and  had  many  narrow  escapes. 

Farther  north,  in  Kentucky,  the  first  preacher  was  also  a  Pres- 
byterian. The  father  of  "Tippecanoe  Joe  Daviess"  went  back  to 
his  old  home  in  Virginia  after  a  preacher,  and  brought  back  with 
him  the  Rev.  David  Rice.  He  gave  Mr.  Rice  the  hire  of  a  negro 
woman  for  two  years,  and  helped  build  him  a  cabin. '»  But  it 
appears  from  Dr.  Davidson's  histor>'  that  Rice  received  very  poor 
compensation  for  his  services  in  after  years. 

'  This  minister  was  the  Rev.  Dr.  Brooks.  For  reasons  unknown  to  the  writer 
his  name  never  appeared  on  the  roll  of  the  Kentucky  Synod,  in  whose  bounds  he 
lived. 

=  MS.  History  of  Presbyterian  church  in  East  Tennessee,  by  Dr.  McMullen. 

3  Dr.  McMullen's  MS.,  p.  6. 

*  Memoir  of  Mrs.  Hess. 


Chapter  II.]  LITERATURE  AND  RELIGION.  7 

The  Rev.  Thomas  B.  Craighead  was  the  first  pastor  who  set- 
tled in  Cumberland;  though  his  first  steps  were  not  cold  before 
the  Rev.  Benjamin  Ogden,  of  the  Methodist  church,  was  proclaim- 
inp-  free  salvation  on  the  banks  of  the  Cumberland  River. 

In  this  sketch  of  preachers  and  congregations  my  inquiries  run 
in  Presbyterian  channels,  since  our  church  was  of  Presbyterian  par- 
entage.    It  would  be  obiter  dictum^  if  I  discussed  other  churches. 

Orthodoxy,  the  catechism,  a  deathless  attachment  to  principles 
and  to  ecclesiastical  rights,  a  holy  horror  of  any  innovations  on  the 
traditional  methods  of  work,  singing  Rouse's  Psalms,  and  hearing 
sermons  three  hours  long  on  election,  made  up  the  religion  of  many 
among  the  best  citizens. 

There  seems  to  have  been  no  great  amount  of  dishonesty.  The 
Nashville  jail  was  a  log  cabin,  fourteen  feet  square.  But  after  the 
revolution,  mainly  through  the  influence  of  the  French  soldiers 
who  had  aided  us  in  that  struggle,  infidelity  swept  over  all  this 
western  frontier,  and  threatened  for  a  while  to  carry  all  the  popu- 
lation. All  the  historians  are  agreed  in  their  testimony  to  this  vast 
prevalence  of  infidelity.  Some  say  nine  tenths  of  the  people  were 
infidels.  The  general  lack  of  regular  preaching,  and  the  bad  char- 
acter of  many  who  did  preach,  helped  to  sweep  faith  away  from  the 
country.  According  to  the  testimony  of  the  Rev.  David  Rice,  the 
first  Presbyterian  minister  who  settled  in  Kentucky,'  and  of  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Davidson,  the  historian  of  the  Presbyterian  church  in  that 
State,  most  of  the  ministers  of  that  church,  in  Rice's  day,  were  bad 
men.  Drunkenness,  wrangling,  licentiousness,  and  heresy  brought 
the  most  of  them  to  grief  sooner  or  later.  ^ 

The  lives  of  unconverted  preachers,  elders,  and  members  make 
a  woful  chapter  in  the  history-  of  this  period.  Of  the  church  mem- 
bers in  this  country  who,  after  being  in  the  church  for  years,  finally 
discovered  their  ruined  condition,  and  made  a  profession  of  relig- 
ion, there  are  several  names  whose  prominence  in  our  history  justifies 
their  introduction  here.  They  are  Richard  King,  Elder  Hutchin- 
son, Robert  Guthrie,  Samuel  McSpeddin,  Finis  Ewing,  together 
with  their  wives,  and  very  many  others. 

The  case  of  Richard  King  is  interesting.     He  had  been  edu- 

'  Memoir  of  Mrs.  Hess.        *  Davidson's  Hist.,  pp.  103,  129,  130. 


8  CUMBERI.AND   PRESBYTERIAN   HiSTORY.  [Period  I. 

cated  for  the  miuistry.  His  father,  Robert  King,  was  an  elder  in 
the  Presbyterian  church,  and  one  of  those  who  opposed  the  revival. 
His  brother,  Samuel  King,  was  he  who  made  one  of  the  three  to 
organize  our  first  presbyter>'.  Although  "Rich"  had  been  edu- 
cated for  the  ministry,  he  would  not  preach;  but  poor  Sam,  who 
had  no  education,  when  he  felt  that  he  was  called  of  God  to  preach 
the  gospel,  would  pray,  "O  Lord,  send  Rich!" 

Men  picked  out  and  educated  for  the  ministry,  and  thrust  into 
the  holy  office  without  any  conscious  internal  call  to  the  work, 
made  one  of  the  troubles  between  Old  Side  and  New  Side  in  1741. 
Dr.  Charles  Hodge's  defense  of  Old  Side  views  on  this  subject  is  a 
chapter  which  his  reputation  could  easily  spare  from  his  writings. 

The  Rev.  Samuel  McSpeddin's  testimony  about  the  kind  of 
preaching  in  the  Presbyterian  pulpits  of  that  day  is  given  at  length 
in  Dr.  Cossitt's  Life  of  Ewing.  The  substance  of  it  is  that  they 
never  said  any  thing  to  rouse  the  conscience;  that  they  never  dis- 
cussed the  new  birth,  or  any  conscious  experience  in  grace;  that 
people  who  by  any  means  became  uneasy  about  their  religious 
state,  and  went  to  their  pastors  for  help,  were  told  that  if  they  had 
been  baptized,  and  believed  that  Jesus  Christ  was  the  Son  of  God, 
they  need  not  trouble  themselves  about  any  conscious  experience. 

McSpeddin  and  Ewing  both  are  specially  severe  on  Craighead's 
preaching.  Nor  are  these  strictures  by  Cumberland  Presbyterians 
any  more  severe  than  some  occasionally  found  in  Davidson's  history 
of  his  own  church.  One  of  Craighead's  sayings,  handed  down  by 
tradition,  was,  ' '  I  would  not  give  this  old  handkerchief  for  all  the 
experimental  religion  in  the  world. ' ' 

A  curious  statement  is  made  by  the  Rev.  James  McGready,  who 
was  a  Presbyterian  minister  in  what  is  now  Logan  County,  Ken- 
tucky, about  one  of  the  preachers  of  his  own  presbytery.  It  is  that 
this  preacher  (the  Rev.  James  Balch)  in  his  sermons  ridiculed  the 
doctrines  of  faith,  of  repentance,  and  of  regeneration.'  And 
although  this  preacher  was  finally  brought  to  trial '  for  his  her- 
esies, it  was  not  till  he  spent  years  traveling  among  the  churches 

'  He  had  been  tried  and  suspended  before  he  came  to  Kentucky,  and  was  restored 
to  the  ministry  by  a  different  presbytery  without  the  consent  of  his  own  presbytery. 
He  was  a  disturber  of  the  peace  wherever  he  Avent. — Dr.  McMullen's  MS. 


Chapter  II.]  LITERATURE  AND  RELIGION.  9 

of  Cumberland,  where  the  great  revival  prevailed,  and  doing  his 
utmost  to  oppose  the  revival  and  check  its  progress.  Nor  were 
his  efforts  without  success  in  some  places. 

The  Rev.  James  McGready  had  entered  the  ministry  without 
any  religion.  God  led  him  to  see  his  ruined  condition,  and  he 
sought  and  found  conscious  salvation.  He  was  then  in  Pennsyl- 
vania, but  soon  went  to  North  Carolina.  His  preaching  there  was 
as  much  changed  as  he  was  himself.  It  aroused  the  conscience;  it 
awakened  unconverted  church  members;  it  was  used  of  God  to 
promote  precious  revivals  of  religion.  These  revivals  in  North 
Carolina  were  bitterly  opposed  by  church  members,  and  McGready 
was  fiercely  persecuted,  even  to  the  extent  of  endangering  his  life. 
There  was  also  there,  as  there  was  at  a  later  day  in  Cumberland,  a 
strong  revival  party  which  sympathized  with  him,  and  worked 
heartily  in  his  meetings. 

A  large  number  of  McGready' s  North  Carolina  neighbors  moved 
to  Cumberland.  Through  their  solicitations,  in  1796,  he  changed 
his  field  of  labor,  and  took  charge  of  these  scattered  sheep  in  the 
wilderness.  There  were  three  small  congregations  to  which  he 
ministered,  whose  only  preaching  before  his  arrival  had  been  from 
such  men  as  Craighead  and  Balch.  These  churches  were  called 
Red  River,  Gasper  River,  and  Muddy  River,  located  in  what  is 
now  Logan  County,  Kentucky.  It  was  a  strange  contrast,  these 
dead  preachers  and  McGready.  The  result  of  his  introduction  into 
this  mass  of  dead  formalism  belongs  to  the  next  chapter.  His 
churches  were  located  in  the  country  then  called  Cumberland,  but 
called  at  a  later  day  the  Cumberland  and  Green  River  Settlements. 
"Cumberland"  was  partly  in  Kentucky,  but  when  this  history 
opens  the  dividing  line  between  the  two  States  had  not  been  run. 
Tennessee's  first  capital  was  east  of  the  mountains. 


10  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.         [Period  i. 


CHAPTER   III. 


THE  GREAT  REVIVAL. i 

Why  should  we  crave  a  hallowed  spot  ? 
An  altar  is  in  each  man's  cot. 

—  Wordszvorth. 

WHAT  share  other  churches  had  in  the  beginning  and  prog- 
ress of  that  work  of  grace  known  as  the  revival  of  1800,  is 
not  here  discussed.  Our  origin  was  in  the  revival  in  the  Preshyie- 
rian  church.  That  revival  had  some  very  striking  antecedents. 
It  began  in  1797.  The  year  preceding  its  beginning  was  marked 
beyond  all  others  for  official  calls  to  fasting  and  prayer  by  presby- 
teries, synods,  and  General  Assembly  —  fasting  and  prayer  for  the 
outpouring  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  Ohio  Presbytery  held  a  monthly 
fast-day  all  through  the  year  1796,  to  pray  for  a  revival.  The 
Synod  of  the  Carolinas  had  appointed  a  synodical  fast -day,  in 
which  all  its  congregations  were  to  pray  for  the  outpouring  of  the 
Holy  Spirit.  A  large  number  of  the  congregations  in  western 
Pennsylvania  had  drawn  up  written  covenants  to  pray  for  a  revival. 
Accounts  of  these  covenants  and  their  precious  fruits  were  after- 
ward published  in  the  Western  Missionary  Magazine.  It  is  an 
item  of  interest  to  Cumberland  Presbyterians  that  the  very  congre- 
gations which  afterward  called  for  our  preaching  were  among  those 
who  joined  in  these  solemn  covenants  to  pray  for  a  revival.  The 
General  Assembly  also  appointed  a  fast-day  to  be  obsen^ed  in  all  its 
churches  —  repentance,  humiliation,  and  prayer  for  the  outpouring 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  being  specially  mentioned.  McGready  drew  up 
a  very  solemn  covenant  for  his  congregations.  Every  Saturday 
evening,  every  Sunday  morning,  and  one  whole  Sabbath  of  each 
month,  for  a  year,  were  to  be  observed  as  a  season  of  special  prayer 

'  McGready,  Hodge,  Ewing,  Calhoun,  Smith,  Speer,  Foote,  and  others,  are  my 
authorities  for  this  chapter. 


Chapter  III.]  ThE   GrEAT  REVIVAL.  II 

for  the  outpouring  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  Logan  County,  Kentucky, 
and  throughout  the  world.  To  this  covenant  he  obtained  the  sig- 
natures of  his  church  members. 

It  was  not  to  sensational  evangelists,  but  to  God's  holy  Spirit 
that  our  spiritual  ancestors  in  the  Presbyterian  church  looked  for 
deliverance  from  the  triumphant  infidelity  of  the  times.  Nor  did 
they  look  in  vain.  In  Gasper  River  congregation,  at  McGready's 
regular  sacramental  meeting,  in  May,  1797,  the  grand  work  began. 
All  through  the  preceding  year  McGready's  church  members  had 
been  coming  to  him  about  their  spiritual  condition.  His  preach- 
ing had  opened  their  eyes  to  the  fact  that  they  were  resting  on  a 
false  hope.  Finally,  one  of  these  —  a  lady  —  found  the  sure  Rock, 
and  was  so  filled  with  God's  Spirit  that  she  could  no  longer  sit 
silent  at  home  while  so  many  of  her  friends  were  in  the  prison 
from  which  she  had  just  escaped.  She  immediately  visited  her 
neighbors  from  house  to  house,  and  awakened  among  them  a  deep 
interest  about  their  souls. 

The  next  year  a  more  general  awakening  occurred.  After  a 
solemn  sacramental  service  in  July,  the  profound  claims  of  immor- 
tality followed  the  people  to  their  homes.  Secular  business  was 
forgotten,  and  men  under  deep  conviction  spent  the  days  alone  in 
the  woods,  weeping  and  praying.  Groups  that  met  in  the  houses 
talked  of  eternity,  and  wept  together  over  their  ruined  condition. 
Thus  for  weeks,  while  there  was  no  public  preaching,  God's  Spirit 
was  at  work  in  the  private  houses.  Godless  church  members  talked 
together  about  the  startling  discoveries  which  they  had  made  of 
their  unconverted  state. 

In  September,  1798,  McGready  held  his  sacramental  meeting  at 
Muddy  River.  God's  power  was  there  also.  All  over  the  field  to 
which  McGready  ministered  the  home  work  became  general.  Sur- 
passing any  thing  of  the  sort  in  all  history  was  this  revival  without 
preaching,  without  public  meetings,  without  any  high  pressure 
methods.  The  houses  and  the  deep  forests  of  Logan  County  rang 
with  the  prayers  of  souls  in  distress.  While  so  many  awakened 
souls  were  in  solemn  prayer,  it  is  remarkable  that  deliverance  was  to 
most  of  them  delayed.  One  who  lived  among  them  at  that  time  has 
left  his  testimony,  that  in  going  from  house  to  house  all  through 


12  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.         [Period  i. 

McGready's  congregations  he  heard  only  one  theme  talked  of.  If 
he  came  upon  a  group  of  old  people,  they  were  weeping  and  talk- 
ing about  their  souls.  If  he  encountered  the  young  people,  either 
singly  or  in  groups,  they  were  in  tears,  and  spoke  only  about  their 
souls'  salvation. 

The  next  year  (1799)  the  interest  was  still  deeper,  especially  in 
Gasper  congregation,  but  this  year  more  of  the  burdened  souls 
found  salvation.  The  sacramental  meeting  was  a  time  of  victory 
to  some.  At  this  meeting  began  what  was  considered  so  strange 
then,  though  it  had  often  occurred  in  the  revivals  of  former  gener- 
ations. Men  under  overwhelming  convictions  fell  to  the  floor,  and 
though  they  were  entirely  conscious,  as  they  afterward  testified,  yet 
they  remained  prostrate  and  motionless  for  hours.  When  they  rose, 
it  was  with  the  shouts  of  victory  on  their  tongues.  This  strange 
exercise  drew  vast  crowds  to  McGready's  meetings.  A  family  who 
had  recently  moved  to  Kentucky  from  North  Carolina  heard  of 
these  strange  things,  and  heard,  also,  that  a  sacramental  meeting 
was  soon  to  occur.  Not  having  friends  near  the  place  of  meeting, 
they  resolved  to  go  in  their  wagons  and  camp  beside  them,  as  they 
had  done  in  their  journey  from  North  Carolina.  This  they  did. 
At  the  next  sacramental  meeting  their  example  was  followed  by 
several  families,  and  most  of  the  converts  of  that  meeting  were  the 
campers.     This  meeting  was  at  Red  River,  in  Kentucky.  • 

It  is  rather  strange  that  mere  conjectural  accounts  of  the  origin 
of  camp-meetings  should  be  extensively  published,  when  we  have 
the  most  reliable  accounts  from  eye-witnesses.  One  of  these 
accounts  was  written  at  the  time  by  Captain  Wallace  Estill,  who 
then  lived  in  Kentucky,  and  was  present  at  all  these  meetings. 
While  he  gives  the  date  of  the  meeting  at  Gasper,  soon  to  be 
described,  he  does  not  give  the  date  of  this  Red  River  meeting, 
though  he  speaks  of  it.  There  is  some  conflict  of  authorities  about 
the  date  of  this  meeting.  The  Rev.  John  McGee,  of  the  Meth- 
odist church,  who  was  present,  places  it  in  1799,  and  there  is  tradi- 
tional confirmation  of  this  date.  Smith,  Estill,  and  others  place  it 
in  1800,  with  circumstantial  confirmation.' 

'John  McGee's  statements  were  written  from  memory,  twenty  years  after  the 
events,  and  contain  internal  proofs  of  inaccuracy  in  other  matters. 


Chapter  III.]  ThE  GrEAT  REVIVAL.  I3 

This  by  some  people,  John  McGee  among  them,  is  called  the 
first  camp-meeting  in  Christendom.  It  was  at  least  the  forerunner 
of  the  first  camp  -  meeting,  for  the  good  results  which  McGready 
saw  follow  this  spontatieoiis  camp  -  meeting  caused  him  to  publish 
far  and  near  that  his  sacramental  meeting  at  Gasper,  in  July,  1800, 
would  be  a  camp-meeting.  The  public  responded  fully,  and  campers 
with  their  wagons  encircled  all  the  place  when,  the  meeting  began. 
This  meeting  at  Gasper  was  the  first  meeting  in  Christendom  that 
was  appointed  and  intended  for  a  camp-meeting.  Estill  calls  this 
the  first  camp-meeting  in  Christendom.  The  grand  revival  flame 
kindled  Saturday,  while  some  pious  women  were  talking  about 
religion.  It  soon  spread  through  all  the  gathered  hosts.  Among 
those  attending  this  meeting  at  Gasper  were  several  members  of 
Shiloh  church,  Sumner  County,  Tennessee.  The  Rev.  William 
Hodge,  their  pastor,  who  was  a  fast  friend  of  the  revival,  was  also 
present.  At  this  meeting  five  of  the  regular  members  of  Shiloh 
congregation  became  convinced  that  they  were  in  an  unconverted 
state,  and,  after  a'  bitter  struggle,  made  a  profession  of  religion. 

The  elder  brother  of  the  Rev.  Samuel  King  was  one  of  these  five 
members.  The  story  of  his  conversion  as  told  by  the  widow  of  the 
Rev.  J.  M.  McMurray,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  McMurray,  of  Lebanon,  Ten- 
nessee, whose  family  were  akin  to  the  Kings,  is  here  given.  The 
father  of  this  Richard  King  (Robert  King)  was  an  elder  in  the 
Shiloh  congregation,  and  a  Presbyterian  after  the  straightest  pat- 
tern. Before  this  Gasper  River  meeting,  some  members  of  the 
Shiloh  church,  while  visiting  one  of  McGready' s  sacramental 
meetings,  had  been  converted,  and  had  returned  home  shouting 
the  praises  of  God.  Robert  King  said  it  was  all  "fox-fire."  "I'll 
send  Rich;  they  can't  fool  Rich."  It  will  be  remembered  that 
' '  Rich ' '  was  not  only  a  member  of  the  church,  but  had  been  edu- 
cated for  the  ministry.  It  was  to  this  grand  meeting  at  Gasper, 
in  1800,  that  Rich  was  sent.  It  was  there  that  he  discovered  the 
necessity  of  a  change  to  which  he  had  hitherto  been  a  stranger.  It 
was  there,  too,  that  his  soul  was  set  at  liberty. 

When  he  and  the  other  Shiloh  people  returned  from  Gasper  and 
met  their  friends,  they  rushed  into  their  arms,  shouting  and  telling 
what  wonderful  things  God  had  done  for  their  souls.     Fire  in  dry 


14  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.         [Period  i. 

stubble  were  these  returned  converts  among  their  neighbors.  The 
private  houses  rang  with  the  cries  of  poor  sinners  who  were  now 
awakened  to  their  ruined  condition.  Nor  were  their  soul  struggles 
protracted  to  the  extent  that  others  had  been  the  previous  year  in 
McGready's  field.  Shouts  of  new  converts  were  soon  heard  in 
these  pioneer  cabins.  A  nephew  of  Richard  King,  a  little  boy, 
was  among  those  who  were  stricken  down  under  deep  conviction 
when  all  these  rejoicing  converts  returned  from  the  Gasper  meet- 
ing. His  friends  sent  for  his  grandfather,  Robert  King.  Here  was 
a  situation  for  the  old  elder.  His  neighbors  carried  away  with 
"fox-fire;"  "Rich,"  whom  he  had  relied  on  to  ferret  out  the  delu- 
sion, now  carried  away  with  it  like  the  rest;  and  worse  still,  he 
himself  sent  for  to  play  revivalist,  and  instruct  a  prostrate  victim 
of  the  delusion.  He,  the  anti-revivalist,  Robert  King!  He  took 
his  lancet  and  his  camphor,  and  went  to  the  boy's  relief,  but  a  bet- 
ter Physician  had  preceded  him.  On  his  arrival  he  found  the  boy 
shouting  the  praises  of  God. 

There  were  twenty  conversions  in  the  Shiloh  neighborhood  after 
the  return  of  "Rich"  King  before  there  was  a  single  sermon 
preached.  Then  they  had  a  camp-meeting,  and  there  were  one 
hundred  conversions:  this,  too,  in  that  sparsely  settled  region. 

The  first  camp-meetings  were  without  tents  or  other  shelter 
except  the  wagons.  Later,  people  built  double  log-cabins,  which 
were  still  called  tents,  for  their  families  and  visitors.  So  far  as 
possible  people  cooked  the  provisions  before  they  left  home,  and 
they  moved  to  camps  expecting  to  remain  during  the  meeting. 
All  who  attended  the  camp-meeting  were  fed  freely.  Campers 
would  go  out  into  the  crowd  and  make  a  public  invitation  for  all 
to  come  and  eat.  The  camps  were  supplied  with  straw,  both  on 
the  ground  and  on  the  bed  scaffolds.  One  tent  was  used  by  the 
ladies,  and  another  by  the  gentlemen.  A  field  of  grain  with  a 
stream  of  water  in  it  was  secured,  and  the  horses  of  the  visitors 
were  turned  into  it.  A  vast  shelter  covered  with  boards  was  built 
and  seated  for  a  preaching  place.  This,  too,  had  an  ample  supply 
of  clean  straw  for  a  floor.  In  the  interv^als  between  public  services 
it  was  their  universal  custom  to  go  alone,  or  in  small  groups,  to 
secret  prayer  in  the  adjacent  forest.     The  north  and  south  line 


Chapter  III.]  ThE  GrEAT  REVIVAL.  I5 

divided  the  grounds  for  retirement  and  prayer,  and  gentlemen  were 
not  allowed  to  go  upon  the  ladies'  grounds. 

In  all  the  early  days,  before  railroads  came  along,  these  meet- 
ings were  not  only  as  orderly  as  any  other  kind  of  meetings,  but 
they  were  generally  seasons  of  unparalleled  solemnity  and  une- 
qualed  moral  grandeur.  A  Scotch  traveler,  who  had  seen  most  of 
the  countries  of  the  world,  has  left  his  written  testimony  that  he 
had  nowhere  seen  any  thing  to  equal  the  moral  grandeur  of  the 
great  camp-meeting.  No  correct  idea  of  these  early  camp-meet- 
ings can  be  formed  from  the  so-called  camp-meetings  of  modern 
times.  They  belong  to  a  different  economy.  I  have  seen  both,  and 
I  recognize  in  the  modern  one  scarcely  one  single  feature  of  those 
early  gatherings  of  a  pioneer  people  to  worship  God. 

Although  Craighead  opposed  the  revival,  his  elders  did  not;  and 
they  determined  to  have  a  camp  -  meeting,  and  have  some  of  the 
revival  preachers  attend  it.  They  did  so,  and  a  precious  meeting 
it  proved  to  be;  but  the  pastor  gave  it  the  cold  shoulder.'  This 
meeting  was  at  the  church  near  Nashville,  in  which  Dr.  Brooks, 
mentioned  heretofore,  was  teaching  a  school. 

Camp-meetings  now  became  the  order  of  the  day.  The  Meth- 
odists especially  took  them  up,  and  had  grand  victories  in  many  of 
their  meetings.     Tennessee  and  Kentucky  were  transformed. 

The  dear  old  Beech  church,  in  Sumner  County,  Tennessee,  had 
that  staunch  friend  of  the  revival,  the  Rev.  William  McGee,  for  its 
pastor.  Its  camp  -  meetings  furnished  surpassing  displays  of  the 
Holy  Spirit's  power. 

God's  Spirit  used  the  distant  visitors  to  these  camp-meetings  to 
spread  the  revival,  not  only  throughout  Tennessee  and  Kentucky, 
but  many  other  States.  Foote's  History  of  North  Carolina^  and  his 
History  of  Virginia  give  us  thrilling  accounts  of  revivals  started  in 
these  two  States  by  people  just  returned  fromMcGready's  meetings. 

Dr.  Speer3  tells  us  of  revivals  similarly  started  in  western  Penn- 
sylvania. The  Rev.  James  Gallagher,  of  the  Presbyterian  church, 
gives  a  most  impressive  account  of  its  spread  into  East  Tennessee. 

'  Several  of  his  hard  sayings  on  that  occasion  are  preserved  in  the  Kirkpatrick 
MSS.,  and  in  others. 

''Foote's  North  Carolina,  pp.  64-73.         3  Speer,  Rev.,  1800,  pp.  24,*43,  48,  84. 


i6  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.         [Period  i. 

He  says  its  awful  solemnity  made  people  think  the  day  of  judg- 
ment was  at  hand. ' 

An  old  claim,  thoroughly  refuted  when  first  published,^  has  been 
recently  revived.  It  is  that  the  revival  in  McGready  s  churches  was 
due  to  the  preaching  of  John  McGee,  a  Methodist.  The  sole  foun- 
dation for  this  claim  is  that  John  McGee  visited  McGready's 
churches  in  1799,  and  preached  in  them.  McGee  himself  says  his 
Jirsf  visit  to  McGready's  churches  was  in  1799.^ 

But  the  revival  in  McGready's  churches  began  in  1797,  before 
McGee  moved  away  from  North  Carolina,  and,  at  the  meeting  which 
McGee  first  visited,  it  was  in  full  power  before  he  ever  took  any 
part. 

No  one  denies  that  both  Methodists  and  Baptists  had  grand  re- 
vivals about  this  period;  but  the  claim  that  the  particular  revival 
out  of  which  our  church  sprang  originated  with  the  Methodists  has 
not  the  shadow  of  a  foundation.  The  evidence  on  which  the  histo- 
ry usually  given  by  our  church  rests  is  all  that  could  •  be  desired. 
The  testimony  of  the  pastor  and  various  other  actors  in  these  events, 
all  published  right  at  the  time,  and  in  the  midst  of  the  people  where 
these  events  occurred,  remained  unchallenged  for  twenty  years. 
To  this  must  be  added  the  testimony  of  the  several  church  judica- 
tures in  which  these  events  became  the  theme  of  angry  discussions. 
Official  records  of  presbytery,  synod,  and  Assembly  speak  of  the  re- 
vival which  originated  under  McGready's  preaching.  Several  offi- 
cial circulars '^  sent  out  by  the  actors  in  these  events  give  the  same 
history. 

When  the  Rev.  James  Smith  published  his  histor>',  our  General 
Assembly  appointed  a  committee  of  eleven  persons,  most  of  whom 
had  been  eye  witnesses  of  these  great  events,  to  examine  into  its 
accuracy.  Their  report  indorses  the  accuracy  of  this  portion  of 
the  history  in  every  particular,  s 

'Western  Sketch  Book.         ^  Revivalist,  Feb.  13,  1S33. 

3 There  is  good  reason  to  beHeve  tliat  he  was  wrong  in  the  date.  He  describes 
events  whicli  seem  to  belong  to  the  next  j'ear.  He  wrote  from  memory  long  after 
the  events. 

*See  appendix  to  Life  and  Times  of  Ewing,  Dr.  Frizzell's  semi-centennial  pam- 
phlet, and  Revivalist,  1S32,  for  these  circulars. 

s  Assembly  Minutes,  Vol.  I.,  p.  117,  et  seq. 


Chapter  III.]  ThE  GrEAT   REVIVAL.  1 7 

Besides  all  this,  John  McGee  set  up  no  such  claim.  He  knew 
better.  Even  his  letter  to  Douglass,  out  of  which  men  tried,  after 
he  was  dead,  to  establish  such  a  claim,  itself  disproves  this  claim. 
There  were  precious  revivals  among  Presbyterians  before  the  Meth- 
odist church  was  bom. 

There  is  in  my  possession  a  manuscript  autobiography  of  the 
Rev.  Robert  Bell,  He  was  present  at  all  McGready's  sacramental 
meetings  from  1797  to  1800.  Among  the  things  which  occupy  a 
prominent  place  in  this  autobiography  is  the  trouble  he  had  over 
the  doctrine  of  reprobation.  He  was  under  deep  conviction  in  1799 
and  1800,  but  feared  he  was  not  one  of  the  elect.  The  doctrine 
of  a  general  atonement  had  never  been  preached  in  his  hearing 
prior  to  his  conversion,  September,  1800.  So  far  is  it  from  being 
true  that  the  doctrines  preached  in  McGready's  churches  before 
the  revival  were  Methodist  doctrines,  that  many  of  McGready's 
people  who  regularly  attended  all  his  services,  had  never  heard  a 
general  atonement  preached  in  their  lives.  Robert  Bell  read  and 
indorsed  the  Rev.  James  Smith's  history  of  the  great  revival. 
We  have  a  brief  account  of  this  great  revival  written  by  the  Rev. 
Samuel  McSpeddin. '  He  was  an  eye-witness.  He  says  the  revival 
began  in  Kentucky  under  McGready's  preaching  in  1797;  that  it 
extended  in  1800  to  Tennessee,  and  was  heartily  welcomed  by  the 
Methodists,  who  afterward  became  the  chief  agents  for  spreading 
it  over  all  of  Tennessee.  He  says  the  first  Methodist  preachers  to 
aid  in  this  revival  work  were  John  McGee,  James  Gwinn,  and 
Bishop  Asbury.  Afterward  McKendree  came  to  this  field,  and, 
of  course,  entered  heartily  into  the  revival. 

McSpeddin  calls  attention  to  the  fact  that  there  was  a  Cane 
Ridge  church  in  Tennessee,  which  had  been  confounded  with  the 
Cane  Ridge  in  Bourbon  County,  Kentucky,  where  the  New  Lights 
originated;  and  this  fact,  perhaps,  helped  to  create  that  long-lived 
error  which  represents  "New  Lights"  and  " Cumberlands "  as  the 
same.  McSpeddin  points  out  several  other  minor  errors  in  the  pub- 
lished histories.  He  says,  as  do  all  the  historians,  that  McGready 
had  revivals  in  North  Carolina  before  he  came  to  Kentucky;  that 

^  See  McSpeddin's  papers,  filed  in  Cumberland  University  Library;  also  Baiitier 
of  Peace,  September  8,  and  October  26,  1S53. 
2 


i8  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.         [Period  i. 

soon  after  his  arrival  in  Kentucky  (1796),  revivals  began  under  his 
preaching  there.  He  also'  says:  "McGready  was  the  great  instru- 
ment, under  God,  of  the  commencement  of  the  great  revival, 
called  the  revival  of  1800." 

]McSpeddin  says  that  Shiloh  and  DeSha's,  so  often  mentioned  in 
our  early  history  as  churches  in  Sumner  County,  Tennessee,  were 
one  and  the  same,  and  that  Dry  Fork  church,  in  the  same  county, 
was  composed  of  the  revival  party  of  both  Hopewell  and  Shiloh. 
[See  Bafiner  of  Peace ^  No.  15,  Vol.  xii.] 

There  was  a  controversy  between  ' '  Uncle ' '  Joe  Brown  and 
IMcSpeddin  about  the  dates  in  ■McSpeddin's  histor}',  but  the  accu- 
racy of  these  dates  was  thoroughly  and  triumphantly  established 
by  McSpeddin  and  acknowledged  by  Brown.  His  dates  make  it 
almost  certain  that  John  McGee's  first  visit  to  McGready' s  meet- 
ings was  in  1800.  One  feature,  however,  of  McGready' s  meet- 
ings at  a  later  day  was  clearly  due  to  IVIcGee,  who  ran  through 
the  church  shouting  and  telling  the  people  to  shout,  until  he  suc- 
ceeded in  producing  quite  a  tumult.  The  Presbyterians  generally 
condemned  shouting,  and  this  feature  of  McGready' s  meetings, 
after  McGee's  visits,  was  one  of  the  grounds  of  their  bitter  com- 
plaints. So  it  is  probable  that  the  "shouting,"  once  so  common, 
now  so  rare,  among  Cumberland  Presbyterians  was  of  Methodist 
parentage. 

It  is  amusing  to  read  the  Rev.  Dr.  Fergus  Ferguson's  account 
of  the  shouting  by  one  of  our  good  sisters  at  our  General  Assem- 
bly in  1874,  when  he  and  Dr.  Morrison  were  on  their  visit  to 
America.'  It  really  seems,  from  his  account,  that  he  had  never 
heard  any  such  thing  before,  and  did  not  know  what  it  was.  I 
wonder  if  the  Methodists  of  Scotland  never  shout. 

It  was,  perhaps,  through  the  brothers,  John  and  William  Mc- 
Gee — one  a  I^Iethodist  and  the  other  a  Presbyterian — that  what 
was  called  "the  union"  was  accomplished.  Before  that  "union" 
it  was  not  at  all  customary  for  different  denominations  to  commune 
together  at  the  Lord's  table  or  work  together  in  meetings — least 
of  all  for  Methodists  and  Presbyterians  to  commune  together. 

'  From  Glasgow  to  Springfield,  by  Fergus  Ferguson,  D.D. 


Chapter  III.]  ThE  GrEAT  REVIVAL.  I9 

The  history  of  ' '  tokens "  '  is  a  strange  one.  Dr.  Blackburn, 
liberal  and  progressive  as  he  was,  refused  to  admit  Joe  Brown  to 
the  communion  table  because  Brov/n  had  communed  with  the 
Cumberland  Presbyterians.  It  was  this  which  drove  Brown  out 
of  the  Presbyterian  church.  "Fencing  the  table"  was  a  more 
rigid  thing  than  any  of  our  Baptist  brethren  now  practice  in  their 
*' close  communion." 

' '  The  union ' '  formed  in  the  time  of  the  McGees  was  nothing 
more  than  a  written  contract  to  commune  together  and  hold  meet- 
ings together — union  meetings. 

'  *    '  An  explanation  of  what  "  tokens  "  were  and  what  "  fencing  the  table  "  was  will 
be  found  in  the  another  chapter. 


20  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.         [Period  i. 


CHAPTER   IV. 


THE  REVIVAL  A  GENUINE  WORK  OF  GOD'S  SPIRIT. 

"  He  shall  baptize  you  with  the  Holj  Ghost  and  with  fire." 

NOT  all  so-called  revivals  are  genuine.  Was  this  one  a  gen- 
uine work  of  God?  The  testimonies  here  introduced  are 
from  that  class  of  witnesses  entitled  to  the  greatest  respect.  They 
are  conclusive,  if  human  testimony  can  be  conclusive  in  such  a 
matter. 

The  Rev.  David  Rice,  who  visited  McGready's  churches  during 
the  revival,  preached  a  sermon  before  his  synod  in  reference  to  this 
wonderful  work.     This  sermon  was  preached  in  1803.'     He  says: 

This  revival  has  made  its  appearance  in  various  places  without  any 
extraordinary  means  to  produce  it 

The  revival  appears  to  be  granted  in  answer  to  prayer,  and  in  con- 
firmation of  that  gracious  truth  that  God  has  "  not  said  to  the  house  of 
Jacob,  Seek  ye  me  in  vain,"  when  he  says  he  will  be  inquired  of  by  the 
house  of  Israel  to  do  it  for  them. 

As  far  as  I  can  see,  there  appears  to  be  in  the  subjects  of  this  work 
a  deep,  heart  humbling  sense  of  the  great  unreasonableness,  ahomina- 
ble  nature,  pernicious  effects,  and  deadly  consequences  of  sin;  and  the 
absolute  unworthiness  in  the  sinful  creature  of  the  smallest  crumb  of 
mercy  from  the  hand  of  a  holy  God Jesus  Christ,  and  him  cru- 
cified, appears  to  be  the  ALL  IN  ALL  to  the  subjects  of  this  revival 
and  the  creature  nothing,  and  less  than  nothing. 

They  seem  to  have  a  very  deep  and  affecting  sense  of  the  worth  of 
precious  immortal  souls,  ardent  love  to  them,  and  an  agonizing  con- 
cern  for  their   conviction,   conversion,  and   complete   salvation 

Neighborhoods,  noted  for  their  vicious  and  profligate  manners,  are  now 
as  much  noted  for  their  piety  and  good  order. 

Drunkards,  profane  swearers,  liars,  quarrelsome  persons,  etc.,  are 

remarkably   reformed A   number  of   families   who    had    lived 

apparently  without  the  fear  of  God,  in  folly  and  in  vice,  without  any 

'  Quoted  from  Dr.  Speer. 


Chapter  IV.]  ThE   REVIVAL  A  GENUINE  WORK.  21 

religious  instruction  or  any  proper  government,  are  now  reduced  to 
order,  and  are  daily  joining  in  the  worship  of  God,  reading  his  word, 
singing  his  praises,  and  offering  up  their  supplications  to  a  Throve  of 
Grace. 

Parents  who  seemed  formerly  to  have  little  or  no  regard  for  the 
souls  of  their  children,  are  now  anxiously  concerned  for  their  salva- 
tion, are  pleading  for  them,  and  endeavoring  to  lead  them  to  Christ 
and  train  them  up  in  the  way  of  piety  and  virtue 

The  subjects  of  this  work  appear  to  be  very  sensible  of  the  necessity 
of  sanctification  as  well  as  justification,  and  that  without  holiness  no 
man  can  see  the  Lord;  to  be  greatly  desirous  that  they  and  all  that 
name  the  name  of  Christ  should  depart  from  iniquity 

Now,  I  have  given  you  my  reasons  for  concluding  the  ?7ior7iing  is 
come^  and  that  we  are  blessed  with  a  real  revival  of  the  benign  and 
heaven-born  religion  of  Jesus  Christ,  which  demands  our  grateful 
acknowledgements  to  God  the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost. 

Five  years  later,  when  the  revival  preachers  had  been  placed 
under  the  interdict  of  a  commission  of  synod,  this  same  David 
Rice  again  testifies  :  "That  we  had  a  revival  of  the  spirit  and pozv- 
er  of  Christianity'^  among  us,  I  did,  do,  and  ever  shall,  believe 
.  .  .  but  we  sadly  mismanaged  it ;  we  have  dashed  it  down  and 
broken  it  to  pieces. ' ' 

How  far  the  Presbyterian  church  suffered  from  its  treatment  of 
the  revival  preachers,  he  and  others  of  his  comrades  had  begun 
keenly  to  feel,  and  have  left  us  clear  testimony.  Dr.  Davidson  tries 
to  lay  the  blame  for  this  injury  to  the  Presbyterian  church,  in  Ken- 
tucky and  Tennessee,  on  the  revival.  Mr.  Rice  knew  where  to  lay 
it.  He  says,  ' '  We  have  not  acted  as  wise  master-builders  who  have 
no  need  to  be  ashamed."^ 

From  the  beginning  of  this  work,  in  1797,  for  a  series  of  years 
the  General  Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian  church  gave  its  testimo- 
ny to  the  precious  fruits  of  this  revival.  In  1803,  it  adds  to  its 
former  testimony  many  precious  words  about  the  revival  in  other 
parts  of  the  field  and  then  notices  our  field  as  follows: 

In  many  southern  and  western  presbyteries  revivals  more  extensive 
and  of  a  more  extraordinary  nature  have  taken  place.  It  would  be 
easy  for  the  Assembly  to  select  some  very  remarkable  instances  of  the 

'  Italics  his.         'Bishop's  Memoir  of  Rice,  p.  367. 


22  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.         [Period  i. 

triumphs  of  divine  grace  which  were  exhibited  before  them  in  the  course 
of  the  very  interesting  narratives  presented  in  the  free  conversation — 
instances  of  tlie  most  mahgnant  opposers  of  vital  piety  being  convinced 
and  reconciled;  of  some  learned,  active,  and  conspicuous  infidels  be- 
coming signal  monuments  of  that  grace  which  they  once  despised;  and 
various  circumstances  which  display  the  holy  efficacy  of  the  gospel. 
....  In  the  course  of  the  last  year,  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  sev- 
eral thousands  within  the  bounds  of  the  Presbyterian  church  have  been 
brought  to  embrace  the  gospel  of  Christ The  Assembly  con- 
sider it  worthy  of  particular  attention,  that  most  of  the  accounts  of 
revivals  communicated  to  them  stated  that  the  institution  of  praying 
societies,  or  special  seasons  of  special  prayer  to  God  for  the  outpouring 
of  the  Spirit,  preceded  the  remarkable  displays  of  divine  grace  with 
which  our  land  has  been  blessed.  In  most  cases,  preparatory  to  signal 
eflTusions  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  pious  have  been  stirred  up  to  cry  fer- 
vently and  importunately  that  God  would  appear  to  vindicate  his  own 
cause.  The  Assembly  see  in  this  a  confirmation  of  the  word  of  God, 
and  an  ample  encouragement  of  the  prayers  and  hopes  of  the  pious  for 
future  and  more  extensive  manifestations  of  the  divine  power.  And 
they  trust  that  the  churches  under  their  care,  while  they  see  cause  of 
abundant  thankfulness  for  this  dispensation,  will  also  perceive  that  it 
presents  new  motives  to  zeal  and  fervor  in  application  to  that  throne  of 
grace  from  which  every  good  and  perfect  gift  cometh.  The  Assembly 
also  observe  with  great  pleasure  that  the  desire  for  spreading  the  gos- 
pel among  the  blacks  and  among  the  savage  tribes  on  our  borders  has 
been  rapidly  increasing  during  the  last  year.  The  Assembly  take 
notice  of  this  circumstance  with  the  more  satisfaction,  as  it  not  only 
affords  a  pleasing  presage  of  the  spread  of  the  gospel,  but  also  furnishes 
agreeable  evidence  of  the  genuineness  and  the  benign  tendency  of  that 
spirit,  which  God  has  been  pleased  to  pour  out  upon  his  people.  On 
the  whole,  the  assembly  can  not  but  declare  with  joy  and  with  most 
cordial  congratulations  to  the  churches  under  their  care,  that  the  state 
and  prospects  of  vital  religion  in  our  country  are  more  favorable  and 
encouraging  than  at  any  period  within  the  last  forty  years. 

There  was  a  long  letter  written  by  the  Rev,  George  Baxter  to 
Dr.  A.  Alexander,  which  I  desire  to  introduce  here.  Dr.  Baxter  was 
for  many  years  President  of  Washington  College,  in  Virginia.  At 
the  time  of  his  death  he  was  Professor  of  Theology  in  the  Union 
Theological  Seminary,  Virginia.  He  wrote  from  Kentucky,  Jan- 
uary I,  1802.  His  statements,  when  published,  were  attacked  by 
the  anti-revival  party.     He  defended  them.     Dr.  Davidson  says  if 


Chapter  IV.]  ThE   REVIVAI.   A   GENUINE  WORK.  23 

he  had  lived  long  enough  he  would  have  corrected  some  of  his 
statements.  Well,  it  is  not  likely  that  he  would  have  contradicted 
his  testimony  to  facts.     He  says: 

I  will  just  observe  that  the  last  summer  is  the  fourth  since  the 
revival  commenced  in  those  places,  and  that  it  has  been  more  remark- 
able than  any  of  the  preceding,  not  only  for  lively  and  fervent  devo- 
tion among  Christians,  but  also  for  awakenings  and  conversions  among 
the  careless;  and  it  is  worthy  of  notice  that  very  few  instances  of 
apostasy  have  hitherto  appeared.  As  I  was  not  myself  in  the  Cum- 
berland country,  all  I  can  say  about  it  is  from  the  testimony  of  others; 
but  I  was  uniformly  told  by  those  who  had  been  there,  that  their  relig- 
ious assemblies  were  more  solemn  and  the  appearance  of  the  work 
much  greater  than  what  had  been  in  Kentucky.  Any  enthusiastic 
symptoms  which  might  at  first  have  attended  the  revival  had  greatly 
subsided,  while  the  serious  concern  and  engagedness  of  the  people 
were  visibly  increased. 

Dr.  Baxter  then  gives  us  many  strong  statements  .about  the  pre- 
cious fruits  of  the  revival  in  Kentucky,  where  he  was  then  visiting. 
He  says :  "In  October  I  attended  three  sacraments ;  at  each  there 
were  supposed  to  be  between  four  and  five  thousand  people,  and 
every  thing  was  conducted  with  strict  propriety."  Dr.  Baxter 
takes  up  the  charge  of  enthusiasm  made  against  the  revival  and 
denies  it.     He  says: 

Never  have.  I  seen  more  genuine  marks  of  that  humility  which  ois- 
claims  the  merits  of  its  own  duties,  and  looks  to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
as  the  only  way  of  acceptance  with  God.  I  was  indeed  highly  pleased 
to  find  that  Christ  was  all  in  all  in  their  relis'ion  as  well  as  in  the  relicf- 
ion  of  the  gospel.  Christians  in  their  highest  attainments  seemed  more 
sensible  of  their  entire  dependence  upon  divine  grace,  and  it  was  truly 
affecting  to  hear  v/ith  what  agonizing  anxiety  awakened  sinners 
inquired  for  Christ  as  the  only  physician  who  could  give  them  any 
help.  Those  who  call  these  things  enthusiasm  ought  to  tell  us  what 
they  understand  by  the  spirit  of  Christianity.  In  fact,  sir,  this  revival 
operates  as  our  Savior  promised  the  Holy  Spirit  should  when  sent  into 
the  world — it  convinces  of  sin,  of  righteousness,  and  of  judgment,  a 
strong  confirmation,  to  my  mind,  both  that  the  promise  is  divine  and 
that  this  is  a  remarkable  fulfillment  of  it. 

Again  he  says  in  the  same  letter: 

I  think  the  revival  in  Kentucky^ among  the  most  extraordinary  that 
have  ever  visited  the  church  of  Christ,  and,  all  things  considered,  pecul- 


24  CUMBERIvAND   PRESBYTERIAN   HiSTORY.  [Period  I. 

iarly  adapted  to  the  circumstances  of  that  country.  InlideHty  was  tri- 
umphant and  rchgion  on  the  point  of  expiring.  Something  of  an 
extraordinary  nature  seemed  necessary  to  arrest  the  attention  of  giddv 
people,  who  were  ready  to  conchide  that  Christianity  was  a  fable  and 
futurity  a  dream.  The  revival  has  done  it.  It  has  confounded  infidel- 
ity and  vice  into  silence,  and  brought  numbers  beyond  calculation 
under  serious  impressions. 

Dr.  Baxter,  in  a  letter  quoted  in  Davidson,  p.  i86,  tells  of  the 
wonderful  reformation  in  morals  and  manners  and  the  ofeneral 
religious  solemnity  which  the  revival  produced  over  all  Kentucky, 
He  says,  ' '  I  found  Kentucky  the  most  moral  place  I  had  ever 
seen. ' '  And  this  was  in  that  same  frontier  where  he  tells  us  that 
only  four  years  before  infidelity  had  been  triumphant. 

I  am  for  the  present  excluding  inside  testimony.  McGready  and 
Hodge  were  actors  in  the  revival,  but  the  Rev.  Gideon  Blackburn 
ought  to  be  accepted  as  good  outside  testimony.  In  1804  he  wrote 
a  long  letter  to  a  friend  in  Philadelphia,  in  which  he  describes 
what  he  had  seen  of  the  revival,  and  defends  it  from  the  charges 
made  against  it.     He  says: 

I  am  constrained  to  say  that  I  have  discovered  far  less  extravagance, 
disorder,  and  irregularity  than  could  be  expected  in  so  extraordinary 
an  awakening,  especially  when  part  of  it  took  place  among  persons  set- 
tled in  the  back  parts,  and  entirely  destitute  of  the  means  of  grace.  If 
crowded  audiences,  earnest  praying,  practical  preaching,  and  animated 
singing  may  be  considered  irregularity,  if  crying  out  for  mercy,  if 
shoutino-  glorv  to  God  for  salvation  are  disorderly,  then  there  is  some 
disorder,  but  I  presume  not  more  than  there  was  on  the  day  of  Pente- 
cost.i 

The  Rev.  David  Nelson's  testimony  is  given  in  the  Western 
Sketch  Book.  In  speaking  of  the  charge  that  the  Kentucky  revival 
ran  into  Shakerism,  he  says: 

When  God  has  been  pleased  graciously  to  visit  a  people  with  the 
quickening  power  of  his  Spirit,  and  many  have  been  turned  from  sin 
to  holiness,  and  from  Satan  to  God,  is  it  not  marvelous  that  good  men 
can  be  so  deluded  by  the  wiles  of  the  great  adversary  as  to  become 
evidently  eager  to  impute  all  the  wrong  things  that  may  appear  in  that 

'  From  the  Western  Sketch  Book,  published  in  East  Tennessee  by  the  Rev. 
James  Gallagher,  of  the  Presbyterian  church. 


Chapter  IV.]  ThE   REVIVAL  A   GENUINE  WORK.  25 

community  for  ten  or  twenty  years  afterward  to  the  influence  of  the 
revival?  With  as  much  propriety  you  might  charge  the  apostasy  of 
Judas  to  the  ministry  of  Jesus  Christ. 

It  is  true  that  one  of  the  preachers  who  co-operated  with  Mc- 
Gready  afterward  joined  the  Shakers.  It  is  true,  too,  that  one  of 
the  apostles  who  traveled  along  with  Jesus  afterward  sold  his  Mas- 
ter. While  one  of  the  revival  party  did  go  at  last  to  the  Shakers, 
it  is  true,  also,  that  the  wealthiest  and  most  influential  acquisition 
which  the  Shakers  of  that  day  made  in  that  community  was  an 
anti-revival  Presbyterian.  It  is  true,  also,  that  no  Cumberland 
Presbyterian  joined  them.  But  what  does  all  that  amount  to? 
The  Shakers  neither  originated  there,  nor  prospered  in  that  field  to 
the  extent  they  did  in  fields  where  the  Presbyterian  church  had  no 
revival.  Nor  did  any  men  stand  firmer  against  these  heresies  than 
the  preachers  who  afterward  composed  the  first  presbytery  of  the 
Cumberland  Presbyterian  church.  The  Rev.  James  Gallagher  says 
of  these  same  heresies: 

Certain  it  is  that  no  men  more  regretted  any  departure  from  sound 
doctrines  than  did  these  good  men  whose  labors  were  so  abundantly 
blessed  in  that  dispensation  of  the  Holy  Spirit  by  which  the  West,  in 
its  infancy,  was  consecrated  to  the  service  of  God.  Nor  do  I  believe 
that  now,  after  fifty  years,  there  is  in  any  part  of  the  several  evangelical 
denominations  more  of  that  religion  which  God  approves  than  in  the 
region  visited  by  the  revival  of  iSoo. 

He  also  speaks  of  the  Cumberland  Presbyterians  thus: 

This  body  of  Christian  people  began  their  organized  existence  dur- 
ing that  great  divine  visitation. ^  There  are  among  them  many  strong 
men:  workmen  that  need  not  be  ashamed.  And  their  blessed  Master 
has  been  with  them  in  every  part  of  that  wide  field  where  they  have 
labored,  and  has  made  his  gospel  the  power  of  God  unto  salvation  to 
many  thousand  believing  souls.  From  my  inmost  soul  I  honor  these 
men,  and  will  speak  of  it  in  the  presence  of  the  church  of  my  God.  .  .  . 
I  have  no  hesitation  in  declaring  my  belief  that  during  the  last  forty 
years  no  body  of  ministers  in  America  or  in  the  world  have  preached  so 
much  good  efficient  preaching,  and  received  such  small  compensation. 
That  church  now  stands  before  heaven  and  earth  a  monument  of  God's 
great  work  in  the  revival  of  1800. 

'  The  revival  of  iSoo. 


26  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.         [Period  i 

Testimonies  from  Methodists  about  the  revival  could,  of  course, 
be  produced;  but  these  here  quoted  are  all  of  them  from  that 
church  in  which  the  revival  had  such  bitter  opposition.  It  never 
had  any  opposition  from  the  Methodists.  Bishop  Asbury  and 
Bishop  McKendree  both  visited  the  Presbyterian  churches  where 
it  first  prevailed,  and  both  gave  it  their  hearty  indorsement. 

The  history  of  this  revival,  by  Dr.  Speer,  is  published  and 
indorsed  by  the  Presbyterian  publishing  board  at  Philadelphia,  and 
on  the  cover  the  board  say,  among  other  things  of  like  import,  that 
their  object  in  publishing  the  book  is  to  "inspire  the  church  to 
efforts  for  another  great  7^evival  from  on  high."  The  whole  book 
is  one  of  unqualified  indorsement  of  the  revival:  and  except  one  par- 
agraph, is,  I  believe,  a  correct  history.  That  the  revival  of  1800 
quickened  into  new  life  all  the  enterprises  of  the  Christian  churches 
is  abundantly  proved  by  this  little  book. 

That  revival  in  Tennessee  and  Kentucky,  under  God,  rescued 
those  two  States,  and,  through  them,  the  West  and  South,  from 
French  infidelity.  Going  out  into  a  broader  field,  and  studying 
the  fruits  of  the  revival  in  its  whole  broad  extent  over  America 
and  Europe,  Dr.  Speer  shows  that  this  work  in  the  West  was  only 
a  part  of  a  grand  forward  movement  of  the  kingdom  of  our  Savior 
throughout  the  world. 

Out  of  this  grand  movement  sprang  the  Bible  societies,  the 
missionary  boards,  the  tract  societies,  which  have  so  wonderfully 
blessed  the  world.  In  a  remarkable  little  book,  by  Dr.  Rochester, 
on  Christian  progress,  he  gives  us  a  diagram  of  progress.  In  mis- 
sions, the  line  which  shows  that  progress  runs  nearly  parallel  with 
the  horizon  till  it  reaches  1800,  then  it  ascends  at  an  angle  of  about 
sixty  degrees. 

For  such  a  time  as  this  are  we  come  into  the  kingdom. 


Chapter  V.]  A   PENTECOSTAL  BAPTISM.  37 


CHAPTER.  V. 


A  PENTECOSTAL  BAPTISM. 
"  Have  ye  received  the  Holj  Ghost  since  ye  believed  ?" 

Awake,  O  spirit,  that  of  old 
Did'st  fire  the  watchmen  of  the  church's  youth, 

Who  faced  the  foe,  unshrinking,  bold; 
Who  witnessed,  day  and  niglit,  the  eternal  truth; 

Whose  voices  through  the  world  are  ringing  still, 
And  bringing  hosts  to  know  and  do  thy  will. 

— Bogatzky. 

'Evd'jar^adz  dovajjicu  i?  0(f)OU^. — Lzike  xxiv.  49. 

IT  is  a  truth  too  often  forgotten  that  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost 
on  the  day  of  Pentecost  was  the  beginning  of  what  was  hence- 
forth to  be  the  distinctive  privilege  of  the  new  dispensation.  The 
Holy  Spirit  had  always  been  in  the  w^orld,  and  every  genuine 
conversion  had  been  his  work;  but  the  Paraclete  was  that  Spirit  in 
a  new  office,  and  with  new  and  abiding  power  on  the  believer. 
The  Old  Testament  saints  had  the  Spirit  in  occasional  manifesta- 
tions. Some  who  live  earnestly,  and  are  true  Christians,  have  only 
these  occasional  or  Old  Testament  gifts;  but  the  Paraclete  is  an 
abiding  power.  "He  shall  give  you  another  Comforter,  that  he 
may  abide  with  you  forever. "  It  is  a  precious  gift  to  be  specially 
sought,  as  it  was  by  the  apostles  after  the  ascension  of  Christ. 

The  object  of  this  chapter  is  to  show  that  the  chief  actors  in 
the  revival  of  1800  had  this  New  Testament  baptism  of  the  Holy 
Ghost.  The  first  proof  of  this  fact  is  found  in  the  abiding  nature 
of  their  spirituality.  They  all  advocated  daily  communion  with 
God  as  an  attainable  experience.  In  Finis  Ewing's  lecture  on 
sanctification  he  uses  many  strong  expressions  on  this  subject,  and 
adduces,  as  evidence  of  a  low  state  of  grace  in  some  Christians,  the 
fact  that  "they  are  not  expecting  daily  communion  with  God, 
daily  access  to  the  throne,  a  daily  or  abiding  witness  that  they  are 
born  of  God." 


28  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.         [Period  i. 

Besides  advocating  the  theory,  their  works  show  plainly  that 
they  had  this  abiding  presence  and  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit  with 
them,  and  knew  the  fact,  and  were  made  fearless  by  it.  The  Rev. 
H.  A.  Hunter,  who  knew  them  all,  gave  it  as  his  opinion  that  the 
chief  difference  between  them  and  modern  preachers  lay  in  their 
consciousness  of  God's  abiding  presence. 

An  anecdote  of  Ewing  illustrates  the  truth  that  these  men  had 
abiding  spiritual  power.'  A  gentleman  went  with  some  wicked 
associates  to  hear  Ewing  preach.  As  he  had  never  heard  Ewing, 
his  comrades  offered  to  bet  him  twenty  dollars  that  he  could  not  go 
into  the  church  and  sit  through  the  sermon  without  going  to  the 
mourner's  bench  when  Ewing  made  the  inevitable  call  for  mourn- 
ers. He  took  the  bet,  sat  through  the  sermon,  resisted  the  call  for 
mourners,  going,  instead,  out  to  his  comrades,  saying,  "Gentle- 
men, I  have  won  the  bet,  but  I  want  none  of  your  money.  From 
this  hour  on,  as  long  as  I  live,  I  shall  not  rest  till  I  find  salvation." 
It  was  not  long  until  he  was  among  the  happy  converts,  and  he 
long  ornamented  the  church  in  which  he  cast  his  lot. 

There  is  no  part  of  Cumberland  Presbyterian  history  of  greater 
practical  importance  than  the  subject  of  this  chapter.  The  dan- 
ger in  modern  times  is  that  men  will  forget  to  seek  this  new 
anointing  from  the  Holy  Spirit.  Moody's  testimony  on  this  sub- 
ject has  been  extensively  published.  "You  lack  the  power^^'' 
the  ladies  said  to  him.  He  sought  the  power.  God  gave  it  to 
him,  and  it  abides  with  him.     He  said: 

Eight  years  ago  I  was  anxious  for  ministers  and  workers  to  see  this 
truth  and  seek  for  this  power.  I  remember  that  dear  man,  Rev.  James 
Robertson,  of  Newington,  telling  me  that  when  the  work  began  in 
Edinburgh  he  could  only  preach  once  a  week.  He  was  suffering  from 
heart  disease.  He  prayed  and  the  Spirit  of  God  came  upon  him;  he 
seemed  to  be  anointed  for  his  burial.  "And  now,"  said  he,  "I  have 
preached  eight  times  a  week  for  a  month,  and  enjoy  better  health  than 
for  years  gone." 

I  can  myself  go  back  almost  twelve  years,  and  remember  two  holy 
women  who  used  to  come  to  my  meetings.  It  was  delightful  to  see 
them  there.  When  I  began  to  preach  I  could  tell  by  the  expression  of 
their  faces  that  they  were  praying  for  me.     At  the  close  of  the  Sab- 

'  Conversations  with  Old  Kentuckians. 


Chapter  V.]  A   PENTECOSTAL   BAPTISM.  39 

bath  meeting  they  would  say  to  me,  "  We  have  been  praymg  for  you." 
I  said,  "'Why  don't  you  pray  for  the  people?"  They  answered, 
"You  need  the  power."  "I  need  the  power!"  I  said  to  myself;  "why 
I  thought  I  had  power."  I  had  a  large  Sabbath-school  and  the  larg- 
est congregation  in  Chicago.  There  were  some  conversions  at  the 
time.  I  was,  in  a  sense,  satisfied.  But  right  along  these  two  godly 
women  kept  praying  for  me,  and  their  earnest  talk  about  "anointing 
for  special  service"  set  me  to  thinking.  I  asked  them  to  come  and 
talk  with  me,  and  we  got  down  on  our  knees.  They  poured  out  their 
hearts  that  I  might  receive  an  anointing  from  the  Holy  Spirit,  and 
there  came  a  great  hunger  into  my  soul.  I  did  not  know  what  it  was. 
I  began  to  cry  as  I  never  did  before.  The  hunger  increased.  I  really 
felt  that  I  did  not  want  to  live  any  longer  if  I  could  not  have  this 
power  for  service.  Then  came  the  Chicago  fire.  I  was  burnt  out  of 
house  and  home  at  two  o'clock  in  the  morning.  This  did  not  so  much 
affect  me;  my  heart  was  full  of  the  yearning  for  divine  power.  I  was 
to  go  on  a  special  mission  to  raise  funds  for  the  homeless,  but  my  heart 
was  not  in  the  work  of  begging.  I  could  not  appeal.  I  was  crying 
all  the  time  that  God  would  fill  me  with  his  Spirit.  Well,  one  day  in 
the  city  of  New  York — O  what  a  day!  I  can  not  describe  it;  I  seldom 
refer  to  it;  it  is  almost  too  sacred  an  experience  to  name.  Paul  had  an 
experience  of  which  he  never  sjDoke  for  fourteen  years.  I  can  only  say, 
God  then  revealed  himself  to  me,  and  I  had  such  an  experience  of  his 
love  that  I  had  to  ask  him  to  stay  his  hand.  I  went  to  preaching  again. 
I  did  not  present  any  new  truths.  The  sermons  were  not  different, 
and  yet  hundreds  were  converted.  I  would  not  now  be  placed  back 
where  I  was  before  that  blessed  experience  if  you  would  give  me  all 
Glasgow — it  would  be  as  the  small  dust  of  the  balance.  I  tell  you  it  is 
a  sad  day  when  a  convert  goes  into  the  church,  and  that 's  the  last  you 
hear  of  him.  If,  however,  you  want  this  power  for  some  selfish  end — 
as,  for  example,  to  gratify  your  own  ambition — you  will  not  get  it. 
"No  flesh,"  says  God,  "shall  glory  in  my  presence."  May  he  empty 
us  of  self  and  fill  us  with  his  Spirit. 

Brought  in  to  be  a  live  factor  in  the  grand  progress  of  Christ's 
kingdom,  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  church  stands  in  wonder- 
ful relations  to  God,  Her  first  ministers  were  flaming  fires.  Wher- 
ever they  went  there  were  revivals.  When  they  stopped  all  night 
at  a  private  house  or  at  wayside  hotels,  there  were  professions  of 
religion.  They  left  homes  and  families  and  every  earthly  interest 
to  go  and  preach  Jesus  to  perishing  souls.  My  father  gave  me  an 
incident  of  Robert  Donnell  which  illustrates  the  ever-abiding  pres- 


30  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.         [Period  l 

ence  of  God's  Holy  Spirit  with  these  men.  Father  was  traveling 
in  the  South  and  stopped  at  a  wayside  inn.  Soon  after  another 
traveler  put  up  at  the  same  house.  When  the  innkeeper  proposed 
to  take  his  guests  to  bed  one  of  them  said,  "If  you  have  no  objec- 
tions, I  should  like  to  have  prayers  with  your  family  before  I  go  to 
bed."  The  family  were  gathered.  After  the  prayer  the  hotel 
keeper  and  his  wife  were  seen  to  be  weeping.  The  traveler  labored 
with  them  that  night  till  they  both  professed  religion.  The  trav- 
eler was  the  Rev.  Robert  Donnell. 

Another  incident  is  here  given  to  illustrate  the  same  abiding 
presence  of  God's  Holy  Spirit  with  the  preachers  of  that  great 
revival.  Many  years  ago  I  was  traveling  in  the  mountains  of  Ten- 
nessee. Passing  by  a  large  framed  meeting-house,  a  gentleman 
who  lived  in  the  neighborhood,  and  had  fallen  in  with  me  on  the 
route,  said  to  me:  "That  Church  has  a  strange  history.  Late  one 
Saturday  a  stranger  stopped  at  my  father's  to  stay  all  night.  After 
supper  he  told  my  father  that  he  never  traveled  on  Sunday,  and 
would  like  to  have  religious  services  at  his  house  on  the  Sabbath, 
if  there  were  no  objections.  Next  morning  the  neighbors  were 
gathered  in  and  the  stranger  preached.  The  very  heavens  came 
down  to  earth.  Men  fell  to  the  floor  crying  for  mercy.  Before 
that  stranger  left  the  neighborhood  the  new  converts  were  organ- 
ized into  a  Cumberland  Presbyterian  church.  That  stranger  was 
the  Rev.  Thomas  Calhoun.  That  church  grew  until  it  was  able  to 
build  the  house  of  worship  which  we  have  just  passed." 

The  next  proof  of  this  New  Testament  gift  upon  our  fathers  is 
found  in  the  extraordinary  power  of  their  preaching.  It  was  not 
learning  or  talents,  but  spiritual  power.  I  have  tried  in  vain  to 
obtain  a  copy  of  a  letter  published  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Samuel  Miller,  of 
Princeton,  New  Jersey,  in  regard  to  this  power  in  the  preaching  of 
H.  F.  Delany.  The  letter  was  often  spoken  of  in  my  boyhood, 
and  my  recollections  of  the  case  are  indorsed  by  several  persons 
with  whom  I  have  compared  notes,  and  the  son  of  Delany '  among 
them. 

Dr.  Miller  had  written  some  very  bitter  things  against  the  Cum- 

*  Judge  W.  S.  Delany,  Columbus,  Texas. 


Chapter  V.]  A   PENTECOSTAL   BAPTISM.  3I 

berland  Presbyterians,  being,  as  he  afterward  acknowledged,* 
wholly  misinformed  about  them.  He  was  traveling  west  and 
stopped  over  Sabbath,  There  was  a  Cumberland  Presbyterian 
camp-meeting  in  the  neighborhood,  and  Dr.  Miller  went.  The  Rev. 
H.  F.  Delany  preached.  Dr.  Miller  found  his  prejudices  melting 
away,  until  he  was  all  overcome  at  last  with  the  simplicity  and 
power  of  the  gospel  as  Delany  preached  it.  Dr.  Miller  wrote  and 
published  a  glowing  account  of  the  sermon,  declaring  his  convic- 
tion that  the  mighty  power  of  God's  Holy  Spirit  was  on  that 
preacher. 

An  old  brother  who  had  known  Robert  Donnell  well  attended 
the  Chautauqua  iVssembly.  I  asked  him  what  he  thought  of 
Chautauqua.  His  reply  was:  "If  Robert  Donnell  could  come 
back  to  earth  and  preach  at  Chautauqua  just  one  such  sermon  as  I 
have  heard  him  preach  at  the  camp-meetings  it  would  set  the 
whole  vast  thing  on  fire,  until  only  the  cries  of  lost  sinners  and 
the  shouts  of  new  converts  could  be  heard." 

At  Cave  Spring  camp-ground,  Overton  County,  Tennessee,  the 
Chapman  presbytery  was  in  session.  Some  ordinations  were  ap- 
pointed for  the  Sabbath.  The  camp-meeting  was  unusually  large. 
Not  only  the  shelter,  but  the  whole  lot  was  filled  with  people. 
When  the  presbytery  gathered  around  the  candidates  for  the  impo- 
sition of  hands,  the  congregation  rose  to  their  feet  to  see  the  cere- 
mony. The  prayer  was  offered  by  the  Rev.  Thomas  Calhoun.  His 
pleading  with  God  for  the  Holy  Spirit's  power  to  be  given  to 
those  young  men  impressed  my  boyish  heart,  as  I  listened,  with 
new  and  grand  ideas  of  the  divine  mission  of  the  gospel  ministry. 
Then  the  prayer  shed  a  startling  flash  of  light  on  a  holy  partner- 
ship and  union  between  a  truly  spiritual  preacher  and  God.  Then 
came  another  flash  sweeping  out  over  the  dark  masses  of  fallen 
men  to  whom  God  was  sending  the  gospel.  O  the  gospel!  how 
that  prayer  revealed  and  transformed  it  to  my  young  eyes.  The 
prayer  went  on,  and  people  standing  near  the  preacher  sank  down 
sobbing  to  the  earth.  The  prayer  went  on,  and  others  who  stood 
next   sank   in  like   manner  to  the  ground.     Burning  sentences, 

'  See  Revivalist,  1833. 


32  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.         [Period  i. 

thrilling  with  the  power  of  God's  Spirit,  went  up  from  the  preach- 
er's heart  to  God,  and  the  next  circle  of  by-standers  sank  to  the 
ground,  sobbing  and  groaning.  Finally,  all  under  the  shelter 
were  alike  bowed  to  the  earth.  Still  the  thrilling  prayer  seemed 
to  gather  more  power.  When  at  last  it  closed,  not  only  under  the 
shelter,  but  out  to  the  fence  and  all  around,  and  back  even  in  the 
camps,  men  lay  upon  the  ground  weeping  and  pra}'ing. 

Nobody  rose  when  the  amen  was  uttered.  The  remaining  cer- 
emonies were  performed  in  choking,  sobbing  whispers.  Then 
there  was  a  pause.  O  that  pause!  Then  the  old  man,  the  grand 
survivor  of  the  revival  preachers  of  1800,  uttered  one  little  sen- 
tence: "Ye  called  of  God,  to  your  work!"  and,  leading  the  way, 
he  and  the  other  preachers  went  among  the  prostrate  crowd,  telling 
the  lost  what  to  do  to  be  saved. 

Our  venerable  and  beloved  brother,  the  Rev.  W.  H.  Baldridge, 
who  was  a  pupil  first  and  afterw^ard  a  fellow-laborer  of  the  Rev. 
James  B.  Porter,  gives  me  many  precious  facts  about  Porter's  won- 
derful spiritual  power.  Although  Brother  Baldridge  heard  all  our 
first  preachers,  being  now  eighty  years  old,  he  does  not  hesitate  to 
pronounce  Porter  the  most  powerful  one  among  them.  One  of  the 
facts  which  he  so  kindly  furnished  me  is  as  follows:  The  Rev. 
James  Bowman,  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  resolved  to  hold  a 
camp-meeting  in  his  congregation;  but  his  brethren,  in  his  pres- 
bytery, were  nearly  all  Old  Side,  and  would  have  nothing  to  do 
with  camp-meetings.  The  few  fa\'orable  to  the  revival  had  other 
engagements.  Bowman  could  get  no  help.  The  ecclesiastical 
authorities  of  the  mother  church  had  forbidden  its  people  either 
to  recognize  as  ministers  the  preachers  of  the  Cumberland  Pres- 
byterian church,  or  to  commune  with  its  members.'  Notwith- 
standing this,  Mr.  Bowman  invited  James  B.  Porter  to  assist  him 
in  his  camp-meeting.  This  was  a  new  departure.  Porter  agreed 
to  assist  on  two  conditions.  First,  that  he  should  be  allowed  to 
preach  his  owni  doctrines.  Second,  that  there  should  be  no  tokens 
used  at  the  communion  service,  but  all  Christians  be  allowed  to  par- 
ticipate.    His  conditions  were  accepted.      While  Porter  preached 

'  This  prohibition  was  revoked  in  1825. 


Chapter  V.]  A  PENTECOSTAL  BAPTISM.  33 

(text,  "Turn,  ye  prisoners  of  hope"),  the  mighty  power  of  God 
swept  over  the  vast  assembly.  Sinners  fell  like  men  slain  in  bat- 
tle. Going  home  was  postponed  one  day  after  another.  There 
were  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  professions.  Fifteen  of  the  con- 
verts became  ministers  of  the  gospel. 

Another  proof  that  these  spiritual  heroes  had  this  higher 
baptism  is  found  in  their  lofty  faith.  What  a  difference  Pen- 
tecost made  in  the  faith  of  the  apostles!  The  men  of  1800  often 
announced  results  beforehand,  because  God  had  given  them  assur- 
ance in  answer  to  their  prayers.  In  Bird's  life  of  Alexander  Chap- 
man, p.  178,  is  an  incident  illustrating  this  point.  At  Mount 
Moriah,  in  Logan  County,  Kentucky,  after  hours  spent  in  the  woods 
in  solemn  prayer,  Chapman  began  his  sermon  with  the  words,  ' '  You 
shall  all  feel  before  I  am  done."  The  results  vindicated  his  assur- 
ance. Not  only  feeling,  but  many  conversions  there  were  there 
that  day. 

There  is  an  incident  from  Calhoun's  ministry  illustrating  this 
point.  He  was  at  a  camp-meeting  at  Rock  Spring  camp-ground, 
in  Overton  County,  Tennessee.  On  Sabbath  morning  at  breakfast 
.some  one  told  him  that  two  desperate  young  men  had  bound  them- 
selves by  a  solemn  oath  to  break  up  the  meeting  that  day.  Cal- 
houn replied,  ' '  We  '  11  see. ' '  Immediately  after  breakfast  he  went 
to  his  usual  retreat,  the  woods,  and  there  remained  in  prayer  till 
time  to  commence  the  eleven  o'clock  sermon.  Then  he  entered 
the  rustic  pulpit  and  announced  his  text.  Then  he  stated  what  had 
been  told  him  at  breakfast,  adding:  "I  am  a  preacher  called  and 
sent  from  God.  You  shall  this  day  see,  and  know,  and  acknowl- 
edge that  God  is  with  me,  and  is  able  to  give  me  the  victory  over 
all  the  opposition  of  men  and  devils. ' '  At  that  moment  the  two 
desperate  young  men  before  spoken  of  rose  to  their  feet,  and,  with 
loud  oaths,  began  cursing  the  preacher  and  the  meeting,  and  mov- 
ing through  the  crowd  with  noisy  efforts  at  disturbance,  Calhoun 
went  on  with  his  sermon.  No  human  voice  could  keep  his  from 
being  heard.  The  piercing  power  of  his  sentences  made  people 
forget  all  disturbances.  That  eagle  eye  of  his  held  the  eyes  of 
the  congregation..  People  were  weeping.  Hearts  were  lifted  to 
God  in  prayer.  The  poor,  silly  young  men  who  were  trying  to 
3 


34  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.         [Period  i. 

disturb  the  worship  could  not  help  hearing  those  wonderful  sen- 
tences. No  one  could  hear  them  without  feeling  the  burning  fire 
of  God's  Spirit  which  was  in  them.  Presently  one,  then  the  other, 
of  these  two  would-be  disturbers  of  God's  worship  fell,  like  Saul 
of  Tarsus,  prostrate  to  the  earth.  They  both  were  converted  that 
day,  and  one  of  them  became  a  minister  of  the  gospel,  and  died 
proclaiming  salvation  to  the  lost.  My  parents  were  present  at  this 
meeting  and  gave  me  the  incident.     I  knew  the  men. 

Another  proof  that  the  men  of  1800  had  this  Paraclete  bap- 
tism is  seen  in  their  real,  practical  consecration  to  Christ,  much 
like  the  consecration  after  Pentecost.  Solemn  covenants  of  conse- 
cration were  written  by  some  of  them  after  their  conversion,  and 
were  carried  out  in  such  a  manner  as  to  show  that  they  were  in 
earnest.  From  a  long  written  covenant  of  consecration  which  was 
entered  into  by  Robert  Donnell,  I  make  a  brief  extract:  "And 
now,  O  Lord,  I  consecrate  myself,  ....  my  talents — whether 
one  or  five — my  time,  influence,  all  to  thee." 

A  few  years  afterward  when  his  little  daughter  died,  he  was 
absent  in  Alabama  holding  a  camp-meeting.  Writing  to  his  wife, 
on  receiving  this  sad  intelligence,  he  says:  "But  for  my  appoint- 
ments to  preach,  I  would  set  out  immediately  to  see  my  dear, 
afflicted  wife.  I  have,  however,  given  myself  to  the  Lord  to  serve 
in  his  vineyard,  and  am  not  at  liberty,  like  men  of  the  world,  to 
leave  my  Master's  work."  '  Ah!  consecration  was  no  empty  sound 
in  such  a  life  as  that.     [See  Ezek.  xxiv.  16,  et  scq.'\ 

Take  one  more  case.  When  Samuel  King  was  in  his  sixtieth 
year  the  General  Assembly  asked  him  to  make  an  evangelistic 
tour  among  the  feeble  churches  of  the  frontier.  Without  hesita- 
tion he  mounted  his  horse  and  made  a  grand  tour  through  Ten- 
nessee, Kentucky,  Arkansas,  Alabama,  Mississippi,  Louisiana,  and 
Missouri.  He  was  absent  from  his  family,  on  this  tour,  nearly  two 
vears.  Do  you  say  he  did  not  love  his  family  ?  I  answer  that  you 
who  say  that  do  not  know  what  real  practical  consecration  to 
Christ,  the  King,  means. 

I  find  that  written  covenants  of  consecration  were  the  rule,  their 

'Lowry's  Life  of  Donnell,  pp.  43,  45. 


Chapter  V.]  A   PENTECOSTAL  BAPTISM.  35 

absence  the  exception.  But  this  covenant  is  often  made  in  words, 
while  the  after  life  shows  there  was  no  real  consecration  in  deeds. 
The  lives  of  all  these  heroes  of  1800  show  consecration  in  deeds. 

When  this  higher  baptism  was  given  on  the  day  of  Pentecost, 
there  followed  grander  answers  to  prayer  than  the  apostles  had 
ever  known  before.  The  men  of  1800  had  answers  to  prayer  of 
such  a  nature  as  to  provoke  incredulous  smiles  when  described  in 
modern  times. 

About  the  year  18 14,  the  Rev.  William  Harris  was  very  sick  with 
winter  fever.  It  was  thought  he  would  die.  The  family  stood 
round  him  weeping.  He  turned  his  face  to  the  wall  and  prayed. 
At  length  he  told  his  wife  to  cease  weeping  because  the  lyord  had 
given  him  the  clear  assurance  that  he  should  recover  from  that 
sickness.  He  lived  thirty  years  after  that.  The  life-long  friend 
of  Harris,  the  Rev.  Alexander  Chapman,  having  heard  of  this  dan- 
gerous illness  of  his  fellow  -  laborer,  called  together  the  Little 
Muddy  congregation,  of  which  he  was  pastor,  and  notified  them 
that  the  special  object  for  which  he  had  assembled  them  was  that 
they  might  join  him  in  praying  for  the  recovery  of  Harris.  It 
was  at  the  same  hour  in  which  they  were  engaged  in  this  prayer 
that  Harris  announced  to  his  wife  that  he  was  going  to  get  well.' 

Thirty  years  ago  all  this  country  abounded  with  similar  tradi- 
tions of  wonderful  answers  to  prayer. 

The  wife  of  the  Rev.  W.  W.  Hendricks,  D.D.,  witnessed  the 
following  incident  and  furnished  me  a  written  account  thereof. 
The  Rev.  Thomas  Calhoun  was  preaching  the  funeral  sermon  of 
the  Rev.  Robert  Donnell.  Vast  crowds  of  people  were  present.  A 
heavy  rain  was  seen  to  be  approaching.  People  began  to  be  rest- 
less. Calhoun  raised  his  hands  to  heaven  and  prayed  God  not  to 
allow  the  rain  to  disturb  the  solemn  worship.  Then,  turning  to 
the  congregation,  he  assured  them  that  God  would  not  allow  the 
rain  to  come  upon  their  saddles.  The  cloud  parted,  and  it  rained 
all  around,  hard  and  long,  but  none  fell  either  on  the  camp-ground 
or  on  the  multitude  of  horses  which  stood  with  saddles  on  them  in 
the  adjacent  grove. 


'Beard's  Memoirs  of  the  Rev.  William  Harris,  p.  138. 


36  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.         [Period  i. 

Many  years  ago,  some  ladies,  in  Kentucky,  who  witnessed  the 
following  incident,  gave  me,  substantially,  this  history  thereof. 
There  was  a  severe  drouth.  Chapman  called  his  congregation 
together  to  pray  for  rain.  He  lead  the  first  prayer.  At  first  the 
prayer  was  very  earnest  pleading,  then  the  prayer  turned  into 
thanksgiving  for  the  rain  which  God  had  assured  him  was  com- 
ing. It  began  raining  abundantly  that  same  day.  O  well,  people 
laugh  at  such  things  now,  and  they  who  laugh  go  without  any 
such  answers  to  their  prayers.  Every  one  of  our  first  preachers 
has  left  2is  proof  that  he  believed  that  God  healed  the  sick  in 
answer  to  the  prayer  of  faith.  I  am  prepared  to  substantiate  this 
assertion,  if  need  be.  Dr.  Beard,  in  noticing  this  faith  of  our 
fathers,  indorses  and  defends  it.  See  biographical  sketch  of  Har- 
ris. He  gives  his  testimony,  too,  to  the  facts  which  I  have  been 
laboring  to  prove  about  this  Paraclete  power  on  the  men  of  1800. 
Hear  him: 

The  first  generation  of  Cumberland  Presbyterians  were  the  most 
intensely  spiritual  people  that  I  have  ever  known.  It  is  charged,  I 
know,  that  old  men  look  back  and  magnify  the  past,  while  young  men 
look  forward;  but  I  can  not  be  mistaken  on  this  subject.  Those  people 
lived  nearer  heaven  than  ordinary  Christians  do  now."' 

The  earnest  advocacy  of  this  Paraclete  baptism,  as  a  distinct 
blessing,  after  conversion,  is  found  in  many  of  the  writings  of  our 
fathers.  The  McAdow  MSS.  before  me  contain  tw^o  sermons 
devoted  specially  to  this  subject.  One  of  them  argues  the  general 
question;  the  other  discusses  the  absolute  necessity  of  this  divine 
baptism  in  order  to  ministerial  success.  Some  points  in  Mr.  Mc- 
Adow's  arguments  will  be  here  condensed.  He  says:  The  gift  of 
the  Holy  Ghost,  in  conviction  and  conversion,  is  not  all  its  gifts. 
This  is  shown  by  the  Holy  Spirit  giving  messages  and  prophecies 
to  unconverted  men,  like  Balaam.  It  is  shown  by  the  gift  of  the 
Spirit  to  King  Saul,  not  for  his  own  sake  at  all,  but  for  the  sake 
of  God's  people  over  whom  Saul  was  ruler.  It  is  shown  by  the 
gifts  of  mechanical  skill  to  Bezaleel,  that  he  might  construct  cun- 
ningly the  vessels  of  the  sanctuary.  It  is  shown  by  the  gift  of 
wisdom  to  Solomon  that  he  might  govern  God's  people  wiseh'.     It 

'  Dr.  Frizzell's  semi-centennial  pamphlet,  pp.  57,  5S. 


Chapter  V.]  A   PENTECOSTAL  BAPTISM.  37 

is  shown  by  all  the  special  "ascension  gifts"  mentioned  in  the 
New  Testament — gifts  suited  to  each  special  sphere  of  duty,  in 
which  men  had  their  special  callings;  gifts  conferred  after  conver- 
sion, fitting  each  recipient  for  some  special  service. 

The  other  sermon  takes  the  ground  boldly,  and  argues  it,  that 
after  a  truly  converted  man  is  called  of  God  to  preach  the  gospel, 
and  has  received  all  the  education  which  the  schools  can  give,  he 
may  still  be  destitute  of  this  New  Testament  baptism,  and  he  is 
utterly  unfit  for  his  work  in  the  gospel  ministry  until  he  does 
receive  this  superadded  gift  of  power  from  the  Paraclete,  specially 
fitting  him  for  the  work  of  preaching  the  gospel.  In  this  sermon 
Mr.  McAdow  argues  the  perpetuity  of  the  order  to  tarry  at  Jerusa- 
lem till  endued  with  the  power  from  above.  He  insists  that  no 
one  should  go  out  to  the  preacher's  work  until  this  baptism  of 
power  has  been  conferred  upon  his  soul.  He  shows  that  no  amount 
of  learning  or  professional  training  can  give  this  power.  Even 
the  three  years  which  the  apostles  spent  traveling  with  Jesus  failed 
to  furnish  it.  He  says:  "I  have  no  doubt  but  that  there  are  men 
in  our  day  who  have  received  a  genuine  call  to  preach  the  gospel, 
....  but  have  never  yet  received  that  unction  of  the  Holy 
Ghost."  Again  he  says:  "O  that  all  our  dear  brethren  who  are 
looking  forward  to  the  ministry  would  heed  the  admonition  of 
Christ  to  his  disciples,  and  tarry  at  Jerusalem  till  they  obtain  this 
seal  of  their  commission ! ' ' 

The  Rev.  James  Gallagher,  a  precious  minister  of  the  Presbyte- 
rian church,  who  witnessed  some  of  the  scenes  of  the  great  revival, 
discusses  this  very  subject  in  "The  Western  Sketch  Book,"  which 
he  edited.  He  gives  wonderful  descriptions  of  the  special  gifts  of 
prayer  bestowed  on  some  people.  He  insists  that  these  were  spe- 
cial enduements  of  power  from  God's  Spirit.  He  says,  while  dis- 
cussing the  "bodily  exercises:"  "Of  the  professors  of  religion  who 
were  in  this  country  when  this  revival  began,  perhaps  one  half 
became  the  subjects  of  this  bodily  exercise.  These  were  invariably 
baptized  with  that  spirit  of  prayer.  The  bodily  exercises  did  not 
continue  long,  but  that  marvelous  power  of  prayer  was  lasting  as 
life."'  He  goes  on  to  describe  the  wonderful  transfonnations  of 
dull  and  formal  and  stupid  church  members  by  this  baptism.     He 


38  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.         [Period  i. 

says  many,  personally  known  to  him  through  a  period  of  thirty 
years,  whose  prayers  had  always  been  cold  and  lifeless,  when  they 
received  that  divine  enduement  of  power,  "would  at  once  rise 
above  and  beyond  themselves — yea,  above  all  I  ever  heard.  This 
extraordinary  power  in  prayer  continued  with  them  through  their 
life."  Again  he  says  of  this  new  power  in  prayer:  "The  man 
who  has  been  acquainted  with  that  strain  or  manner  of  prayer  will 
know  it  in  a  moment  whenever  or  wherever  he  may  have  the 
opportunity  to  hear  it  again." 

Dr.  Bird,  in  his  life  of  Chapman,  page  350,  says  he  "valued  the 
anointing  of  the  Holy  Spirit  above  every  thing  else.  .  .  .  Grace, 
the  anointing  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  was  every  thing  to  him." 

Every  one  of  these  men  whom  I  heard  preach  in  my  boyhood 
—  Donnell,  McSj^eddin,  Barnett,  Calhoun,  Harris,  George  Donnell, 
and  many  others  of  the  next  generation  —  laid  special  emphasis  on 
this  baptism  of  power  from  the  Holy  Spirit-  This  they  did  in  all 
their  preaching  and  their  prayers. 

Men  try  to  apologize  for  the  lack  of  this  spiritual  power  now 
by  pleading  that  the  preachers  of  1800  had  uneducated,  primitive, 
excitable  people  to  preach  to.  Some  of  them  cite  the  impulsive- 
ness and  inflammability  of  the  colored  race  as  a  proof  that  the  grand 
results  of  1800  were  due  to  similar  conditions,  instead  of  a  superior 
spirituality.  I  ask,  Was  the  Rev.  Dr.  Samuel  IMiller  ignorant 
and  excitable?  Was  the  Rev.  James  Gallagher,  of  the  Presbyte- 
rian church,  or  the  Rev.  Dr.  Bird,  or  the  Rev.  Dr.  Beard,  or  the 
Rev.  Dr.  H.  A.  Hunter,  of  our  own  church,  ignorant  and  excitable? 
No,  no!  Let  us  turn  to  the  stronghold  and  seek  the  divine  gift 
for  our  own  souls. 


Chapter  VI.]  OPPOSITION   TO  THE  REVIVAL.  39 


CHAPTER  VI. 


OPPOSITION  TO  THE  REVIVAL. 

To  see  the  blow,  to  feel  the  pain, 
But  render  onlj'  love  again! 
This  spirit,  not  to  earth  is  given; 
One  had  it,  but  HE  came  from  heaven. 

— Henians. 

T  is  hard  to  be  impartially  just  in  writing  this  chapter.  There 
is  no  doubt  but  that  the  manner  in  which  the  revival  was  man- 
aged gave  some  just  grounds  for  complaint;  neither  is  there  any- 
ground  to  doubt  that  most  of  the  complaints  made  were  unde- 
served. All  genuine  revivals  are  committed  to  human  manage- 
ment, and  stir  up  both  just  and  unjust  complaints. 

Before  McGready  came  to  Kentucky  his  revivals  stirred  up 
opposition,  even  to  the  extent  of  threatening  the  preacher's  life. 
A  letter  written  in  blood  was  sent  to  him  warning  him  to  leave 
the  country.^ 

When,  in  his  Kentucky  field,  the  revival  made  its  appearance, 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Balch,  of  McGready' s  own  presbytery,  visited  Mc- 
Gready's  churches  for  the  special  purpose  of  preaching  against  the 
revival,  and  ridiculing  what  McGready  had  taught  about  faith, 
repentance,  and  regeneration.''  Balch' s  preaching  caused  a  vast 
amount  of  mischief.  Nor  did  he  stop  with  pulpit  ministrations, 
but  also  visited  the  converts  from  house  to  house  ridiculing  their 
experience.  3  Nor  was  this  preacher  the  only  one  who  opposed 
the  revival.  In  the  same  field  were  four  others  who  opposed  it. 
They  were  Craighead,  Bowman,  Templin,  and  Donnell.  Balch 
made  the  fifth;  just  half  the  Presbyterian  preachers  in  that  field. 
Those  who  favored  the  revival  and  worked  for  it  were  McGready, 

^  Smith's  History,  p.  563;  Foote,  p.  50. 

'Smith,  p.  567,  et  seq.;  McGreadv's  Posthumous  Papers 

3  See  Mrs.  Williamson's  letters  in  Bird's  Chapman. 


40  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.         [Period  i. 

Hodge,  McGee,  McAdow,  and  Rankin.  The  opposition  was  not 
confined  to  the  ministry.  King,  with  his  lancet  and  camphor, 
going  to  minister  to  a  soul  seeking  salvation,  was  only  a  sample 
of  what  many  a  church  member  was. 

Before  any  other  question  arose  between  the  two  parties  this 
one  had  split  the  churches  asunder.  The  Muddy  River  church,  in 
Kentucky,  divided,  and  the  revival  party  formed  a  new  church 
called  Liberty. 

In  1801 '  the  difficulty  on  this  account  in  the  Shiloh  congrega- 
tion, Sumner  County,  Tennessee,  was  brought  before  the  presbytery. 
It  had,  of  course,  occurred  before  that  date.  The  same  year  the 
revival  part  of  Spring  Creek  church,^  in  Wilson  County,  Tennessee, 
having  for  a  considerable  time  been  locked  out  of  the  meeting- 
house, withdrew  and  built  them  another  house,  which  they  called 
Bethesda.     This  church  still  exists. 

The  Gasper  church,  3  in  Logan  County,  Kentucky,  was  closed 
against  the  revival  party,  and  for  years  they  held  their  meetings 
in  the  grove  near  the  church.  At  a  later  day  they  built  at  Pilot 
Knob,  in  Simpson  County.  Their  meeting  place  was  in  the  adja- 
cent grove  when  the  Commission  met  at  the  church.  This  ex- 
plains what  Dr.  Davidson  says  about  Mr.  Rankin's  addressing  the 
people  in  the  grove  while  the  Commission  were  at  Gasper. 

The  Red  River  church,*  in  Logan  County,  Kentucky,  was 
locked  against  the  revival  party,  and  McGready  stood  on  the  door 
steps  and  preached.  One  day  while  he  or  some  other  revival 
preacher  stood  there  gesticulating  violently,  a  backward  stroke 
broke  the  lock,  and  the  house  was  never  locked  against  the  revival 
party  afterward. 

There  were  several  cases  in  which  this  opposition  to  the  revival 
amounted  to  personal  violence.  The  Calhoun  MSS.  give  an 
account  of  one  man  who  used  a  stick  to  enforce  his  views.  The 
McAdow  papers  make  several  allusions  to  this  personal  violence. 
So  do  the  Kirkpatrick  MSS.  In  this  opposition  infidels  and 
church  members  made  common  cause.     A  very  wicked  man  saw 

'Minutes  of  Transylvania  Presbytery,  iSoi;  Revivalist^  April  i6,  1S34. 
-Lovvry's  Life  of  Donnell,  p.  26.         3  Bird's  Chapman,  p.  70. 
*  Conversations  with  Old  People  at  Red  River. 


Chapter  VI.]  OPPOSITION  TO  THE   REVIVAL.  4I 

his  wife  go  to  the  mourner's  bench.  In  a  rage  he  rushed  to  the 
place  and  dragged  her  away,  cursing  the  revival  as  he  went. 
While  he  was  on  his  way  to  her  horse  a  tree  fell  on  him  and  killed 
him.  The  corpse  was  brought  back  to  the  shelter,  and  then  and 
there  IMcGready  preached  the  poor  sinner's  funeral  sermon.  This 
was  at  Shiloh.' 

Opposition  to  revivals  per  se  is  an  exotic  plant  in  Presbyterian 
gardens.  Its  importation  began  in  the  Established  Church  of 
Scotland,  when  state  authority  thrust  unconverted  men  into  the 
pastorates.  We  have  already  seen  that  unconverted  preachers  were 
common  in  McGready's  day,  according  to  the  judgment  of  their 
contemporaries.  Such  men  are  generally  opposed  to  revivals  per 
se.  But  a  far  better  class  of  Presbyterians  have  always  opposed 
"revival  measures."  All  honest  hyper-Calvinists  are  logically 
opposed  to  such  things.  A  recent  writer  in  The  Southern  Presby- 
terian Quarterly^  in  arguing  against  our  modern  revivals,  puts 
ultra-Calvinism  in  its  legitimate  expression  when  he  says:  "In  the 
conversion  and  sanctification  of  the  elect,  the  Almighty  appoints  a 

bound,  and  there  is  no  margin  for  improvement A  faithful 

proclamation  of  the  glad  tidings  is  all  the  machiner>'  that  is  needed 
in  the  salvation  of  those  who  are  ordained  to  eternal  life."^  The 
same  writer  declares  his  conviction  that  all  the  modern  revivals 
have  been  a  disadvantage  to  the  churches. 

There  were  in  1800  many  rigid  notions  among  the  churches 
which  seem  strange  to  us  now.  Singing  hymns  instead  of  psalms 
was  one  of  McGready's  offenses.  The  day  for  opposition  to  fire- 
places or  stoves  in  church  was  gone,  but  other  things  as  unreason- 
able still  held  sway  among  the  descendants  of  the  Covenanters. 
Night  meetings  were  considered  scandalous.  In  the  catalogue  of 
"new  measures"  which  the  "Old  Side"  party  objected  to,  were 
protracted  meetings,  night  meetings,  calling  in  other  ministers  to 
aid  in  meetings,  inquiry'  meetings,  propositions  calling  for  action 
of  any  kind,  weeping  in  the  pulpit,  great  fervor  in  exhortation, 
itinerant  preachers,  evangelists  both  lay  and  clerical,  singing  hymns, 
all  noise — shouting,  groaning,  or  crying  out  for  mercy;  to  all  of 

'John  McGee  locates  this  incident  incorrectly. 
'  Southern  Quarterly,  1868,  p.  155. 


43  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.         [Period  i. 

which  was  added  another  long  list  after  camp-meetings  and  the 
mourner's  bench  came  into  use.  The  Presbyterian  church  was 
at  first  divided  about  half  and  half  on  these  questions,  but  the  Old 
Side  party  to-day  is  everywhere  in  the  minority.  It  counted  the 
heaviest  pens  of  the  church  from  1740  to  1800.  Some  of  Dr. 
Samuel  Miller's  complaints  against  the  revivals  in  which  these 
new  measures  were  used  are  very  severe/  but  scarcely  less  so  than 
Dr.  Charles  Hodge's.- 

There  were  in  1800  many  ministers  who  believed  the  revival 
genuine,  but  objected  to  many  of  the  measures  used,  and  objected 
to  such  an  extent  that  they  were  often  classed  with  the  anti-revival 
party.  David  Rice  was  one  of  this  class.  It  was  new  measures 
which  many  good  men  conscientiously  opposed.  The  revival 
preachers  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  all  the  better  class  of  them, 
admitted  the  necessity  of  caution  in  times  of  great  popular  excite- 
ment, and  acknowledged  the  worthlessness  of  man-made  revivals; 
but  they  said  as  God  uses  human  beings  in  all  genuine  revivals,  so 
will  there  always  be  human  imperfections  accompanying  them. 
They  illustrated  the  constants  and  the  variables  of  Christianity  by 
the  art  of  printing.  The  truth  was  a  constant,  printing  a  variable, 
and  not  mentioned  in  Scripture;  yet  by  its  use  the  unchangeable 
truth  could  be  carried  to  many  who  could  never  see  a  copy  of  the 
Bible  by  the  old  method.  There  is  but  one  way  of  salvation,  but 
the  agencies  by  which  that  way  may  be  taught  and  impressed  are 
multiplying  and  improving  every  year. 

The  mourner's  bench  is  one  of  the  variables.  The  advocates 
of  new  measures  presented  strong  arguments  in  its  favor,  such 
as  these:  It  commits  the  sinner  publicly  to  seeking  salvation;  it 
touches  the  hearts  of  his  comrades;  it  enlists  the  prayers  of  Chris- 
tians for  him;  it  mortifies  his  stubborn  pride.  But  the  mourner's 
bench  has  been  abused.     Perhaps  other  methods  are  to  take  its  place. 

As  for  itinerant  preaching  it  is  willful  blindness  to  call  it  a  new 
measure.  Christ  and  his  apostles  used  it,  and  the  commission  was 
"go,"  not  "stay." 

The  New  Side  showed  that  the  revival  on  the  day  of  Pentecost 

'  See  his  ninth  letter  to  Presbyterians. 

'  See  his  History  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  America. 


Chapter  VI.]  OPPOSITION  TO  THE  REVIVAI..  43 

was  one  of  excitement  and  noise,  so  much  so  tliat  men  said  the 
apostles  were  drunk;  and  yet  that  great  revival  neither  destroyed 
nor  hindered  the  ordinary  services,  but  souls  were  ' '  daily  added ' ' 
to  the  church  after  the  meeting.  There  was  new  life  in  those 
ordinary  regular  services.  There  was  a  consecration  of  men  and 
money  to  Jesus  far  beyond  what  the  ordinary  services  produced. 

Then  they  turned  the  tables  on  the  objectors.  They  showed 
what  a  routine  of  stagnation  and  death  the  ordinary  services  had 
reached  before  every  one  of  the  great  revival  periods.  Men  were 
taken  into  the  church  without  conversion;  unconverted  men  were 
taken  into  the  ministry;  infidelity,  too,  crept  in  under  this  cloak 
of  lifeless  forms;  and  vast  multitudes  were  sweeping  away  to  hell 
under  a  godless  ministry. 

If  Dr.  Miller's  ninth  letter  is  appalling,  the  answers  to  it  are 
still  more  so.  One  of  the  writers  (himself  a  Presbyterian)'  asks: 
"Are  any  of  these  able  men  who  are  writing  against  the  way  we 
conduct  our  revivals  themselves  experts  in  revivals  ?  Did  any  sin- 
gle one  of  them  ever  have  a  revival,  either  genuine  or  spurious, 
under  his  ministry  ? ' ' 

We  are  successful  watch-makers.  We  have  sent  out  thousands 
of  good  time-pieces,  none  of  them  faultless,  but  all  serviceable. 
Up  yonder  in  the  college  observatory  is  an  able  astronomer,  and 
he  sets  himself  to  writing  against  our  watches,  and  denouncing 
them  for  lack  of  that  ideal  perfection  which,  from  his  mathemat- 
ical training,  he  sees  in  them.  We  ask  him,  Sir,  did  you  ever 
make  a  watch  ? 

There  is  a  history  by  Dr.  Robert  Henderson,  quoted  in  the 
McMullin  MS.,  which  seems  in  place  here.  Dr.  Blackburn  was 
holding  a  revival  meeting  on  the  New  Side  programme.  Dr.  Hen- 
derson, who  was  Old  Side,  and  had  no  patience  with  Dr.  Black- 
burn's meeting,  was  present.  So  he  gathered  a  part  of  Dr. 
Blackburn's  congregation  into  another  house,  and  held  an  orderly 
meeting  for  them.  Although  some  of  Dr.  Blackburn's  most 
excitable  followers  were  present,  yet  there  was  no  noise  or  confu- 
sion of  any  sort  at  Dr.  Henderson's  meeting.  It  also  comes  out, 
incidentally,  that  there  were  no  conversions  there. 

'See  New  York  Evangelist^  ^'^ZZ- 


44  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.         [Period  i. 

In  1852  an  earnest  Methodist  was  holding  a  revival  meeting  in 
the  church  just  opposite  a  great  Catholic  church  in  Philadelphia. 
Day  and  night  for  a  hundred  days  the  meeting  swept  on  like  a 
tempest.  Finally  the  priest  called  on  the  Methodist  preacher  and 
inquired  if  there  was  no  way  "to  have  a  stop  put  to  that  nui- 
sance." The  answer  was,  "Nothing  easier,  sir;  you  just  come 
and  preach  in  my  pulpit  and  all  the  noise  will  stop."  No  doubt 
Dr.  Henderson  could  produce  order  out  of  Dr.  Blackburn's  excit- 
able materials,  but  Dr.  Blackburn  had  thousands  of  seals  to  his 
ministry. 

The  reader  will  please  look  at  the  map.  Kentucky  Synod 
took  in  both  the  Cumberland  settlement  and  the  upper  Kentucky 
settlement.  A  wilderness  lay  between  them.  None  of  "the  Cum- 
berland party"  lived  or  preached  in  "upper  Kentucky."  Four 
Presbyterian  ministers  in  upper  Kentucky  preached  some  wild 
doctrines,  and  used  many  strange  methods  at  their  meetings,  all  of 
which  the  Cumberland  party  earnestly  condemned.  Years  before 
the  "Cumberland  schism"  originated  there  was  a  schism  in  upper 
Kentucky,  and  those  engaged  therein  were  called  Stoneites,  after 
the  name  of  their  leader,  the  Rev.  Barton  W.  Stone.  The  wild- 
est and  most  wonderful  of  their  meetings  were  at  Cane  Ridge,  where 
miracles,  prophesies,  and  other  such  wonderful  things  were  said  to 
take  place.  Afterward,  when  the  Cumberland  party  sprang  up  in 
"Cumberland,"  some  of  the  Stoneite  preachers  came  to  that  field, 
but  in  every  case  "the  revival  party"  of  Cumberland  Presbytery 
refused  to  allow  these  Stoneites  to  preach  in  their  meetings. 
Ewing  and  others  preached  against  the  heresies  of  the  Stoneites. 
Yet  for  years,  and  even  now,  "the  anti-revival  party  "  of  the  mother 
church  holds  up  the  Cane  Ridge  meetings  and  Stoneite  theol- 
ogy as  samples  of  what  the  meetings  and  doctrines  of  Cumberland 
Presbyterians  are.  Several  writers  who  confounded  McGready's 
meetings  and  the  Cumberland  meetings  of  a  later  day  with  these 
wild  meetings  in  upper  Kentucky,  afterward  discovered  and  cor- 
rected their  mistake.  Others  have  promised  to  correct  theirs 
also.  It  is  far  more  important  to  them  than  it  is  to  us  that  they 
should  do  so.  "An  outrage,"  says  Cer\^antes,  "injures  him  who 
gives  it,  not  him  that  receives  it. ' ' 


Chapter  VI.]  OPPOSITION   TO   THE   REVIVAI,.  45 

An  illustration  of  these  misrepresentations  is  seen  in  the  pub- 
lished letters  of  Dr.  Samuel  Miller.  He  had  so  often  heard  and 
read  the  charge  that  the  Stoneites,  Shakers,  and  Cumberland  Pres- 
byterians were  all  branches  of  one  tree,  and  all  alike  in  their 
revival  meetings,  that  he  repeated  the  charge  in  his  publications. 
He  afterward  published  the  following  recantation;  "I  am  now 
convinced  that  in  representing  the  'New  Lights'  or  'Stoneites,' 
the  'Shakers,'  and  the  Cumberland  Presbyterians  as  exfoliations 
from  the  same  disorderly  body,  and  of  about  the  same  time,  I  wrote 
under  a  misapprehension  of  the  facts. ' ' '  Again,  in  the  same  let- 
ter, he  says:  "Neither  the  Stoneites  nor  the  Shakers  ever  made 
constituent  parts  of  that  body.  The  Stoneites  and  Shakers,  I  am 
now  aware,  were  separated  from  the  church  several  years  anterior 
to  the  departure  of  the  Cumberland  Presbyterians." 

Another  sample  is  taken  from  the  Presbyterian^  i847'  After 
making  some  grave  charges  against  us,  the  editor  proceeds  to 
prove  them,  thus,  quoting  from  the  Assembly's  digest: 

But  we  will  give  a  brief  extract  in  their  own  words,  as  these  Min- 
utes are  accessible  but  to  a  few.  "When  we  withdrew,"  they  say, 
"we  considered  ourselves  freed  from  all  creeds  but  the  Bible;  and 
since  that  time,  by  constant  application  to  it,  we  are  led  further  from 
the  idea  of  adopting  creeds  and  confessions  as  standards,  than  we  were 
at  first.  We  feel  ourselves  citizens  of  the  world;  God  our  common 
Father;  all  men  our  brethren  bv  nature,  and  all  Christians  our  brethren 
in  Christ.  This  principle  of  universal  love  to  Christians  gains  ground 
in  our  hearts  in  proportion  as  we  get  clear  of  particular  attach- 
ments to  party.  We  therefore  can  not  put  ourselves  in  a  situation 
which  would  check  the  growth  of  so  benign  a  temper,  and  make 
us  fio-ht  under  a  party  standard."  Although  these  men  had  just  denied 
the  faith,  rent  the  church,  and  set  up  a  party  standard,  yet,  with  this 
high  sounding  language,  they  attempted  to  beguile  the  public,  and  said 
to  the  assembly,  "Let  us  pray  for  more  of  the  uniting,  cementing  spirit, 
and  treat  differences  in  lesser  matters  with  Christian  charity."  They 
were  ready  for  a  reunion,  but  only  on  the  terms  that  the  whole  church 
should  give  up  its  creed  and  descend  to  their  level.  Thus  it  was 
upwards  of  forty  years  ago  in  our  own  church;  let  the  church  now,  as 
then,  stand  up  for  the  maintenance  and  defense  of  its  precious  distinct- 
ive doctrines. 

^Revivalist,  June  iS,  1834.  • 


46  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.         [Period  i. 

To  which  Milton  Bird  made  the  following  reply,  addressing 
himself  to  the  Presbyterian: 

By  referring  to  Davidson's  late  history  of  Presbyterianism  in  Ken- 
tucky (pp.  197,  198,  300,),  in  connection  with  the  Minutes  from  which 
you  quote,  you  will  find  that  you  have  mistaken  the  "New  Lights"  for 
the  Cumberland  Presbyterians.  The  two  have  no  more  fellowship 
with  each  other  than  night  and  day.  The  "Separatists,"  or  "New 
Lights,"  to  which  these  Minutes  refer,  soon  disbanded  without  adopt- 
ing any  creed.  Three  of  them  joined  the  Shakers,  two  united  again 
with  the  Presbyterian  church,  and  the  sixth.  Barton  Stone,  joined  the 
Campbellites. 

Then  the  Presbyteriaii  made  the  following  statement: 

A  Correction. — We  incidentally  referred  in  some  remarks  on  dis- 
tinctive Presbyterianism,  to  the  schism  of  the  Cumberland  Presbyte- 
rians as  illustrative  of  the  views  we  were  expressing,  and  quoted  a  doc- 
ument found  in  the  Minutes  of  the  General  Assembly,  which  we  attrib- 
uted to  the  members  of  this  presbytery.  In  this  we  erred.  The  senti- 
ments we  quoted  were  chargeable  to  the  "New  Light  Schism"  in 
Kentucky,  and  not  to  the  Cumberland  Presbyterians,  who  did  not 
come  on  the  stage  until  several  years  afterward. 

How  carelessly  that  editor  read  the  Minutes  of  his  own  Assem- 
bly! There  are  still  those  who  reiterate  the  old  slander,  perhaps 
really  believing  it.  Thus  Dr.  Speer  (1872),  in  his  little  book 
entitled  "The  Great  Revival  of  1800,"  represents  "Cumberland- 
ism"  as  originating  out  of  the  Cane  Ridge  furor,  while  he  holds 
up  in  contrast  the  more  orderly  meetings  iit  INIcGready's  field  in 
lyOgan  County.'  Dr.  Speer  wrote  me  that  he  would  make  some 
corrections  when  he  published  his  next  edition.  It  is  not  the  pur- 
pose of  this  history  to  expose  and  refute  the  unfounded  and  bitter 
charges  which  the  anti-revival  party  of  that  day  made  against  the 
revival,  and  afterward  against  the  church  which  took  its  rise  from 
that  revival.  In  most  cases  these  bitter  charges  were  never 
indorsed  by  the  bulk  of  the  Presbyterian  church.  Their  refutation 
was  given  at  the  time.     Let  that  siiffice. 

One  of  the  foci  of  fury  where  opposition  to  the  revival  rallied 
was  "the  jerks."  Of  these  strange  matters  a  few  words  must  be 
written.     In  many  countries,  both  in  the  Old  World  and  the  New, 

'  See  pp.  38-40. 


Chapter  VI.]  OPPOSITION   TO   THE   REVIVAL.  47 

and  in  many  meetings,  and  especially  Presbyterian  meetings,  not 
only  in  1800,  but  in  previous  revivals,  these  bodily  exercises  made 
their  appearance.  Their  first  appearance  in  the  revival  of  iSoo 
was  not  in  McGready's  churches,  but  in  Gideon  Blackburn's,  in 
East  Tennessee.  The  first  person  to  have  them  in  this  western 
field  was  the  Rev.  Dr.  Doak,  a  graduate  of  Princeton,  New  Jersey, 
and  a  thorough  Presbyterian.  These  exercises  have  been  investi- 
gated scientifically  and  often.  All  parties  agree  that  they  were 
involuntary.  A  curious  story  was  current  in  my  boyhood  about  a 
Presbyterian  minister  who  came  into  Tennessee  and  was  preaching 
against  these  bodily  exercises,  when  he  was  himself  seized  with 
them  in  the  pulpit  and  violently  jerked  about. 

Dr.  Blackburn,  Dr.  Baxter,  ]\IcGready,  and  Hodge,  and  a  host 
of  others,  all  Presbyterians,  and  eye-witnesses,  were  fully  per- 
suaded that  these  strange  manifestations  were  the  direct  work 
>of  God's  Holy  Spirit,  sent  to  silence  and  convince  the  gainsayers 
of  that  day.  Others  thought  them  only  the  result  of  ner\'0us 
excitement.  Dr.  Blackburn  quoted  Scripture  to  show  that  they 
were  the  legitimate  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  James  Smith 
("Scotch  Smith,"  as  our  people  called  him)  took  the  nervous 
view  of  the  matter.  So  did  Dr.  Charles  Hodge  and  Dr.  Davidson. 
It  is  absolutely  certain  that  these  strange  exercises  made  a  deep 
and  solemn  impression  on  those  who  witnessed  them.  Proofs  are 
in  existence  of  the  conversion  of  many  an  infidel  through  the 
agency,  under  God,  of  these  strange  manifestations.  Advocates 
of  the  ner\-ous  theory  were  put  to  practical  confusion  at  Gasper 
River  at  the  first  appearance  of  these  wonders  there.  They  plied 
medical  remedies  to  those  who  fell  prostrate  and  lay  like  dead  men. 
The  lancet  was  used  to  such  an  extent  that  the  place  was  covered 
with  bleeding  bodies  like  a  battle-field,'  but  no  good  ever  came 
from  this  medical  treatment;  and  no  harm  to  life,  limb,  or  reason 
ever  came  from  the  mysterious  exercises.  Dr.  Charles  Hodge's 
effort  to  connect  these  bodily  exercises  with  nervous  epidemics, 
whose  origin  had  no  connection  with  religion,  is,  it  seems  to  me,  a 
total  failure. 

'  Hugh  Kirkpatrick's  MSS. 


48  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.         [Period  i. 


CHAPTER   VII. 


THE  SECOND  DIFFICULTY— MINISTERIAL  EDUCATION. 

"  Shall  we  to  men  benighted, 
The  lamp  of  life  deny?" 

THERE  was  a  vast  field  almost  destitute  of  the  means  of  grace. 
Most  of  the  settlers  had  been  accustomed  to  church  privileges 
in  their  former  homes,  and  were  clamorous  for  them  in  their  fron- 
tier cabins.  Those  who  attended  the  camp-meetings  returned  to 
spread  the  religious  interest  in  their  neighborhoods.  A  sufficient 
supply  of  preachers  could  not  be  secured.  The  case  was  one  of 
extreme  urgency.  The  Rev.  David  Rice  visited  McGready's  field, 
"and  being  informed  of  the  destitute  state  of  most  of  the  churches, 
and  the  pressing  demands  for  the  means  of  grace,  earnestly  recom- 
mended that  they  should  choose  from  among  the  laity  some  men 
who  appeared  to  possess  talents  and  a  disposition  to  exercise  their 
gifts  publicly  to  preach  the  gospel,  although  they  might  not  have 
acquired  that  degree  of  education  required  by  the  Book  of  Disci- 
pline. This  proposition  was  cordially  approved  by  both  preach- 
ers and  people What  still  more  clearly  convinced  them  of 

the  propriety  of  this  measure  was  that  in  almost  every  congrega- 
tion that  had  been  blessed  with  the  outpouring  of  the  Holy  Spirit, 
there  were  one  or  more  intelligent  and  spiritual  men  whose  gifts  in 
exhortation  had  already  been  honored  by  the  Head  of  the  church 
in  awakening  and  converting  precious  souls.  Accordingly  three 
zealous,  intelligent,  and  influential  members  of  the  church — viz., 
Alexander  Anderson,  Finis  Ewing,  and  Samuel  King — were 
encouraged  by  the  revival  preachers  to  prepare  written  discourses 
and  to  present  themselves  before  the  Transylvania  Presbytery  at  its 
session  in  1801.  All  these  persons  had  previously  been  under 
serious  impressions  that  it  was  their  duty  to  devote  themselves  to 
the  ministry,  but  as  they  had  not  enjoyed  the  advantages  of  a 


Chapter  VII,]  MINISTERIAL  EDUCATION.  49 

collegiate  education,  and  were  men  of  families  and  somewhat 
advanced  in  life,  they  had  been  laboring  under  difficulties.  At 
the  meeting  of  Transylvania  Presbytery,  in  October,  1801,  the 
case  of  these  brethren  was  brought  before  that  body,  from  some  of 
whom  they  met  with  warm  opposition.  However,  after  a  pro- 
tracted discussion,  it  was  agreed  by  the  majority  that  they  might 
be  permitted  to  read  their  discourses  privately  to  Mr.  Rice. ' ' ' 
They  did  so,  and  Rice  reported  favorably.  They  were  then  sent 
out  as  exhorters  to  the  vacant  congregations,  and  instructed  to 
prepare  written  discourses  for  the  next  meeting  of  the  presbytery. 

In  the  spring  of  1802  Anderson  was  received  by  a  majority  of 
one  vote  as  a  regular  candidate  for  the  ministry,  and  the  others  by 
a  majority  of  one  vote  were  retained  in  the  category  of  catechists. 
In  the  fall  of  1802  they  were  all  licensed  to  preach. 

Here  was  the  second  ground  of  complaint.  The  question  was 
not  then,  nor  is  it  now,  about  the  great  importance  of  a  classical 
education,  but  it  was,  and  still  is,  whether  after  we  have  done  our 
utmost  in  educating  men  for  the  ministry,  we  may  supplement  the 
supply  by  licensing  judicious  men  of  piety  and  promise  to  work 
among  the  perishing,  even  when  these  men  have  not  a  collegiate 
education.  Inasmuch  as  there  was  opposition,  Mr.  Rice,  by  direc- 
tion of  the  presbytery,  addressed  a  letter  to  the  General  Assembly 
on  the  subject.     Here  is  the  answer:^ 

A  liberal  education,  though  not  absolutely  essential,  has  been  shown 
to  be  highly  important  and  useful,  from  reason  and  experience  and  the 
prosperity  of  the  Presbyterian  and  New  England  churches.  But, 
whatever  might  be  the  Assembly's  opinion,  the  standards  are  explicit 
on  the  subject.  As  to  the  apprehension  of  schism  in  consequence  of 
rigid  views,  the  reply  must  be  that  the  path  of  duty  is  the  path  of 
safety,  and  events  are  to  be  committed  to  God.  Parties  formed  under 
such  circumstances  would  be  neither  important  nor  permanent.  Not- 
withstanding, when  the  field  is  too  extensive,  catechists,  like  those  of 
primitive  times,  may  be  found  useful  assistants.  But  great  caution 
should  be  used  in  selecting  prudent  and  sound  men  lest  they  run  into 
extravagance  and  pride.  Their  duties  should  be  carefully  defined  and 
subject  to  frequent  inspection.     They  should  not  be  considered  stand- 

*  Quoted  from  Smith's  History. 

"Quoted  from  Cossitt's  Life  of  Ewing,  p.  346. 


50  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.         [Period  i. 

ing  officers  in  the  church,  but,  if  possessed  of  uncommon  talents,  dili- 
gent in  study,  and  promising  usefulness,  they  might  in  time  purchase  to 
themselves  a  good  degree^  and  be  admitted  in  regular  course  to  the  holy 
ministry.     [Italics  mine.] 

This  advice  of  the  General  Assembly  accords  in  every  possible 
particular  with  the  views  then  taken  by  the  revival  party.  On 
those  views  they  acted,  and  against  them  the  other  party  planted 
themselves.  Every  Cumberland  Presbyterian  would  consent  to 
have  all  the  licensures  by  Cumberland  Presbytery  tried  by  this 
rule.  So,  too,  may  the  licensures  of  Ewing,  King,  and  Ander- 
son by  the  Transylvania  Presbytery  be  tried.  Though  not  fully 
up  to  the  requirements  in  the  classics,  these  three  men  were  all 
men  of  respectable  attainments  in  scholarship.  Ewing  had  con- 
siderable classical  knowledge.  There  were  catechists  sent  out  at  a 
later  day  who  never  expected  to  become  regular  ministers.  As  a 
considerable  number  of  these  catechists  were  employed,  it  is  not  a 
matter  of  surprise  that  a  few  of  them  disappointed  the  expectations 
of  the  presbytery. 

But,  of  all  those  whom  the  revival  party  licensed  to  preach, 
there  is  not  one  single  name  which  is  not  held  in  the  profoundest 
veneration  to-day  in  all  the  field  where  they  labored.  Not  one  of 
them  left  a  reputation  tarnished  by  heresy,  apostasy,  or  defection 
from  the  church  and  services  of  the  Lord  Jesus.  They  all  died 
with  their  armor  on  after  a  noble  warfare.  Such  things  can  not  be 
said  of  those  who  constituted  the  other  party  of  the  Cumberland 
Presbytery. 

At  a  later  day  the  revival  party  sent  a  history  of  their  action  at 
this  time  to  the  General  Assembly.  An  extract  from  that  history 
is  here  given.  The  histor}^  is  too  long  to  quote  in  full'  but  it  is 
all  interesting,  and  is  in  perfect  accord  with  the  histor>'  of  the 
revival  given  in  this  book,  especially  as  to  when,  where,  and  how 
the  revival  originated. 

After  describing  the  origin  of  the  revival  and  its  wonderful 
spread  over  the  whole  country,  they  say: 

Now,  truly,  the  harvest  was  great  and  the  laborers  few.     Unable  to 

'See  Revivalist,  May  14,  1S34.  See  also  appendix  A,  in  Life  and  Times  of 
Ewing. 


Chapter  VII.]  MINISTERIAL  EDUCATION.  51 

resist  the  pressing  solicitations  from  every  quarter  for  preaching,  with 
unutterable  pleasure  we  went  out,  laboring  day  and  night,  until  our 
bodies  were  worn  down,  and  after  all  we  could  not  supply  one  third  of 
the  places  calling  upon  us  for  preaching.  While  thus  engaged,  and 
while  the  gracious  work  was  still  going  on,  we  observed  what  was  very 
remarkable,  that  in  almost  every  neighborhood  there  was  some  one 
who  appeared  to  have  uncommon  gifts  for  exhortation  and  prayer,  and 
was  zealously  engaged  in  the  exercises  thereof,  while  the  Lord  wrought 
by  him  to  the  conversion  of  many.  Viewing  the  infant  state  of  the 
church  in  our  country,  the  anxious  desire  for  religious  instruction,  the 
gifts,  diligence,  and  success  of  those  we  have  mentioned,  and  the 
scriptural  authority  for  exhortation,  we  were  induced  with  almost 
every  member  in  the  presbytery,  to  open  a  door  for  the  licensure  of 
exhorters,  well  knowing  it  was  a  liberty  that  was,  and  would  be 
taken;  and  concluding  if  taken  by  presbyterial  authority  it  might  pre- 
vent disorder  and  weakness.  It  was  now  agreed  that  any  of  those  who 
might  be  licensed,  and  who  manifested  extraordinary  talents  and  pietv, 
should  be  considered  as  candidates  for  the  ministry;  also,  that  for  their 
improvement  they  should  have  subjects  appointed,  on  which  they  were 
to  be  heard  at  our  stated  sessions  of  j^resbytery;  that  if,  by  their 
improvement,  piety,  and  usefulness,  they  purchased  to  themselves  a 
good  degree,  they  might  be  set  apart  to  the  holy  ministry.  Accord- 
ingly, several  made  application,  who  were  examined  on  experimental 
religion,  and  the  motives  inducing  them  to  public  exhortation.  Those 
we  judged  qualified  were  then  licensed.  The  first  were  all  men  of 
families,  and  somewhat  advanced  in  years.  Out  they  went,  leaving 
wives  and  children,  houses  and  lands,  for  Christ's  sake  and  the  gospel; 
suffering  hunger,  cold,  and  weariness,  for  weeks  in  succession,  but  the 
Lord  was  with  them  and  made  them  happy  instruments  in  helping  on 
his  work  in  the  conversion  of  many.  After  a  long  trial  of  those  men 
in  diflTerent  parts  of  our  country,  there  came  forward  to  our  presbytery 
several  petitions  for  their  licensure  to  the  ministry,  signed  by  hundreds 
of  the  most  moral  and  religious  characters  where  they  had  labored. 

From  our  personal  knowledge  of  those  men's  good  talents,  piety, 
and  usefulness;  from  the  numerous  warm  petitions  of  the  people  at 
large;  from  the  example  of  many  presbyteries;  from  the  silence  of 
Scripture  on  literary  accomplishments;  from  your  own  declaration  in 
answer  to  Mr.  Rice's  letter,  viz.:  "That  human  learning  is  not  essential 
to  the  ministry;"  from  the  exception  made  in  the  Book  of  Discipline,  in 
extraordinary  cases;  we  humbly  conceived,  that  it  would  not  be  a  trans- 
gression either  of  the  laws  of  God  or  the  rules  of  the  church,  to  license 
men  of  such  a  description.  We  therefore  did  license  them,  and  a  few 
Others  at  different  times  afterward;  some  of  them  with,  and  some  with- 


53  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.         [Period  i. 

out,  literary  acquisitions;  but  all  men  of  gifts,  piety,  and  influence,  hav- 
ing spent  years  previous  in  exhortation,  before  they  were  admitted  to 
the  ministry.  Several  vv^ere  licensed  to  exhort,  whose  names  are  on 
our  Minutes,  whom  we  never  had  a  design  of  admitting  to  the  minis- 
try.    Now  th'e  work  of  the  Lord  went  on.     Numbers  of  young  and 

promising  congregations  were  formed So  that  in  a  few  years 

the  wilds  of  our  country  echoed  with  the  praises  of  the  Lord.  Savage 
ignorance  was  changed  into  a  knowledge  of  God  and  his  dear  Son; 
and  savage  ferocity  into  the  lamb-like  spirit  of  Jesus." 

James  Hutchinson,  Esq.,  of  Montgomery  County,  Tennessee, 
gave  to  Dr.  Cossitt  a  statement  which  will  illustrate  the  circum- 
stances under  which  these  men  were  first  sent  out.     He  says : ' 

We  emigrated  from  Virginia  in  1796,  and  settled  where  we  now 
live,  in  1797.  Both  my  Sarah  and  I  had  been  religiously  raised  and 
accustomed  to  read  our  Bible.  Away  from  all  our  friends  and  in  this 
then  solitary  place,  we  felt  that  we  needed  an  Almighty  Protector.  We 
sought  the  one  thing  needful  as  for  goodly  pearls.  In  1800  we  trust 
we  both  embraced  that  holy  religion  which  has  been  our  guide  and 
comfort  up  to  the  present  hour.  The  country  was  filling  up  rapidly, 
but  there  was  no  one  to  break  to  us  the  bread  of  life.  O  how  we  did 
long  to  hear  the  blessed  gospel  preached!  We  joined  with  David 
Beaty  and  Henry  Anderson  in  a  petition  praying  Transylvania  Presby- 
tery to  send  us  a  preacher.  We  were  rejoicing  in  hope,  but  hungering 
for  the  word  of  God.  We  were  Presbyterians,  so  far  as  we  under- 
stood ourselves,  and  wanted  to  cast  our  lot  with  that  people  among 
whom  God  was  carrying  on  his  glorious  work.  The  field  was  wide, 
the  harvest  plenteous,  and  the  laborers  few.  A  preacher  could  not 
come  to  us.  We  wept,  we  mourned,  w^e  prayed;  we  could  take  no 
denial.  We  petitioned  again  without  success.  Still  we  believed  God 
would  hear  and  help  us.  We  could  not  be  discouraged,  seeing  that 
God  could,  in  answer  to  our  prayers,  incline  the  presbyters  to  favor  us, 
if  only  a  little.  No  mortal  man  can  conceive  our  anxieties  unless  he 
has  been  placed  in  a  like  situation. 

We  could  hear  of  other  places  within  ten,  twenty,  thirty  miles  where 
the  people,  like  us,  were  petitioning  for  a  preacher.  Some  of  them 
had  attended  the  great  meetings  in  Kentucky  or  higher  up  in  Tennes- 
see, and  had  returned  glorifying  God.  We  asked.  Would  not  a  God 
of  love  take  care  of  his  own  cause  and  feed  his  own  flock?  ....  We 
called  to  mind  his  precious  promises  and  said,  Surely  he  will. 

There  are  two  periods  in  my  life  which  I  never  can  forget  while  I 

'Life  and  Times  of  Ewing,  pp.  70-77.^ 


Chapter  VIL]  MINISTERIAL   EDUCATION.  53 

remember  any  thing.  One  is  when  I  found  the  Lord  precious;  the 
other  is  when,  in  answer  to  all  our  prayers,  he  sent  his  faithful  servant 
to  minister  to  our  spiritual  necessities.  I  often  call  to  mind,  as  if  it 
were  but  yesterday,  the  evening  when  a  traveler,  an  entire  stranger,  as 
I  supposed,  rode  up  to  my  log-cabin.  This  house,  built  of  stone,  was 
not  here  then.  His  eyes  were  red  with  weeping,  and  the  tears  were 
scarcely  dried  on  his  cheeks.  He  inquired  for  James  Hutchinson.  On 
being  informed  that  I  was  the  man  he  seemed  overjoyed.  He  said,  "  I 
have  so  long  traveled  this  Indian  path  without  seeing  a  house  that  I 
seriously  feared  it  would  be  my  lot  to  lie  out  this  night  and  take  my 
chances  with  the  wolves.  I  have  cried  and  prayed  the  Lord,  my 
helper,  ....  and  he  has  brought  me  to  this  hospitable  home."  I  was 
filled  with  surprise  and  joy.  I  saw  he  was  a  man  of  genteel  appear- 
ance, and,  better  still,  his  language  savored  of  grace  and  piety.  I  had 
seen  but  few  religious  persons  since  I  professed,  and  I  greatly  rejoiced 
that  a  pious  traveler  had  done  me  the  favor  to  call  and  spend  a  night 

with  me  at  my  cabin  in  the  wilderness He  soon  took  occasion 

to  let  me  know  his  business  in  these  parts,  and  that  his  name  was  Finis 
Ewing "  Sarah,  Sarah,"  I  called.  She  was  out  preparing  sup- 
per. Stepping  to  the  door  I  said,  "The  preacher  has  come!"  Sarah 
came  in  shouting,  while  I  was  crying  for  joy.  God  had  answered  our 
prayers  and  sent  us  a  preacher! 

When  we  had  become  a  little  composed,  Mr.  Ewing  modestly 
observed,  "Do  not  mistake  me,  my  friends;  I  am  not  a  preacher,  but 
have  been  sent  in  the  place  of  one.  I  am  authorized  publicly  to  exhort, 
expound  the  Scriptures,  and,  according  to  my  ability,  give  all  needful 
instructions,  without  the  formalities  of  a  sermon."  Being  mere  babes 
in  Christ,  we  cared  but  little  for  the  formalities  of  a  sermon 

We  had  long  felt  that  we  were  in  the  midst  of  a  people  who  were 
living  without  hope  and  without  God  in  the  world,  actually  perishino- 
for  lack  of  knowledge.  Without  the  gospel,  without  schools,  and 
almost  without  a  Sabbath,  we  shuddered  at  the  thought  of  raising  our 
children  in  such  a  state  of  society. 

Mr.  Hutchinson  gathered  in  his  neighbors  and  Ewing  preached 
and  left  another  appointment.  Hutchinson  then  accompanied  him 
to  other  destitute  neighborhoods.  He  speaks  in  strong  terms 
about  the  great  power  of  Ewing' s  sermons  at  all  these  places. 

As  for  the  other  lay  exhorters,  each  in  separate  fields,  the  one 
claiming  attention  next  to  Ewing  is  Samuel  King.  Like  Ewing, 
he  had  been  taken  into  the  church  while  still  unconverted;  and, 
like  Ewing,  he   had   been   truly  converted   afterward.     Then   he 


54  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.         [Period  i. 

iminediately  began  to  exhort  sinners.  It  is  the  general  testi- 
mony that  his  exhortations  were  greatly  blessed.  While  he 
had  a  circuit  regularly  appointed  around  which  he  traveled,  he 
seems  often  to  have  wandered  beyond  its  bounds.  From  the  very 
first  his  heart  yearned  over  the  most  destitute.  Nor  did  he 
stop  with  the  white  settlements.  An  incident  of  his  work  among 
the  Indians  will  be  given  here.  It  was  furnished  originally  by 
his  son,  Judge  R.  M.  King.  King  was  addressing,  through  an 
interpreter,  a  large  crowd  of  Choctaw  Indians.  The  interpreter 
became  so  powerfully  convicted  that  he  could  proceed  no  further, 
but  like  the  sinners  at  McGready's  meetings,  he  fell  to  the  earth 
and  began  to  cry  for  mercy.  The  preacher  knew  not  what  to  do. 
He  could  speak  none  of  their  language,  yet  they  were  weeping  all 
around  him.  He  knew,  though,  that  God  could  understand  him. 
He  fell  to  his  knees  and  began  to  pray.  While  King  prayed  the 
interpreter  was  converted.  Then  the  preacher  had  a  new  tongue. 
His  sermon  was  blessed  to  the  salvation  of  many  souls  before  he  left 
the  place.  To  the  visits  of  King  to  the  Choctaws  can  be  traced 
the  conversion  of  our  first  native  preachers  among  that  people.^ 

But,  returning  to  King's  circuit,  the  indications  are  that  it 
reached  the  wildest  and  sparsest  portions  of  the  field.  He  swam 
rivers;  he  slept  often  in  the  forest  with  his  saddle-bags  for  a  pil- 
low; he  preached  under  the  trees,  where  there  was  no  house  of 
worship.  Thomas  Calhoun  testified  that  King  was  the  first  man 
in  all  the  West  to  take  his  stand  against  whisky. 

All  these  men  rode  vast  circuits  on  which  they  preached  every 
day,  besides  riding  from  twenty  to  fifty  miles  on  horseback.  Rid- 
ing, too,  when  there  were  no  bridges,  ferrj^-boats,  or  even  good 
wagon  roads.  It  took  them  four  months  to  make  one  round 
on  these  circuits.  To  many  of  the  new  settlers  visited  by  them 
these  circuit  appointments,  once  in  four  months,  were  their  only 
dependence  for  the  gospel.  Even  the  daring  pioneers  of  Method- 
ism had  not  then  reached  some  of  these  regions. 

Alexander  Anderson  had  gifts,  in  some  particulars,  superior  to 
all  the  others..  One  who  knew  him  well  gave  a  long  written 
statement  to  Dr.  Beard  ^  testifying  to  his  spiritual  power.     Speak- 

' Beard's  King.         'Beard's  Anderson. 


Chapter  VII.]  MINISTERIAL  EDUCATION.  55 

ing  of  his  selection  by  the  presbytery  he  says:  "They  knew  their 
man.  They  knew  what  he  could  do  in  prayer,  exhortation,  and 
other  religious  exercises.  Nor  were  they  disappointed. ' '  He  says 
there  were  still  living  a  few  who  remembered  Anderson's  sermons 
and  could  repeat  whole  paragraphs  of  them,  and  still  wept  at  the 
mention  of  his  name,  after  he  had  been  in  heaven  fifty  years.  It  is 
reported  of  him  that  he  foresaw  the  schism  which  was  threatened 
in  his  church,  and  prayed  God  that  he  might  be  taken  home  before 
it  came.     His  prayer  was  answered. 

Colonel  Joe  Brown  gives  this  incident,  as  related  to  him  by  the 
father  of  the  Rev.  James  B.  Porter:  "The  Rev.  Dr.  Thomas  Hall, 
while  on  his  way  to  Natchez,  where  he  had  been  sent  as  a  mission- 
ary, stopped  to  rest  a  while  in  Sumner  County,  Tennessee.  There 
he  heard  about  these  lay  exhorters.  He  expressed  himself  in 
strong  terms  against  the  measure,  and  said  he  would  see  to  it  that 
the  Presbyterian  church  should  not  be  disgraced  by  lay  preaching. 
That  same  night  he  attended  a  prayer-meeting  at  which  Alexander 
Anderson  exhorted.  Dr.  Hall  was  amazed.  He  said  that  man 
must  preach.  The  Lord  had  some  great  work  for  him  to  do." 
\S^Q^  Banner  0/  Peace ^  March  16,  1856.] 

As  for  Ephraim  McLean,  he  is  not  in  the  same  category  as  the 
others.  While  he  was  received  as  a  candidate  in  1802,  he  was  not 
willing  to  be  placed  on  the  list  of  exceptions  to  the  educational 
requirements.  What  little  he  lacked  of  coming  up  to  those 
requirements  he  believed  he  could  make  up  by  private  study  while 
on  the  circuit.  It  is  this  that  explains  the  omission  of  his  name 
in  the  passage  quoted  from  Smith's  history.  But  in  all  the  list 
there  was  no  truer  hero  for  Jesus  than  McLean,  When  he  pro- 
fessed religion  he  had  a  wife  and  four  children,  and  was  living  in  a 
floorless  cabin  built  of  round  poles.  When  he  felt  himself  called 
to  preach  the  gospel,  his  heroic  wife  urged  him  on,  both  in  his 
preparation  for  the  work  of  the  ministry  and  in  the  discharge  of 
its  sacred  duties  afterward.  He  went  out  on  his  circuits,  year 
after  year,  preaching  to  people  where  no  other  minister  came.  He 
received  no  pay.  His  wife  raised  the  wool,  spun  the  thread, 
wove  the  cloth,  and  made  the  clothing  which  he  wore  on  his  cir- 
cuits.    The  anti-revival  party  sneered  at  his  rough  garments,  but 


56  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.         [Period  i. 

they  will  not  sneer  in  the  day  of  judgment,  when  they  see  him 
wearing  a  crown  studded  with  many  stars.  His  was  not  a  long 
career.  He  fell  just  after  the  new  church  was  organized,  but  his 
work  lives  on.  He  had  two  sons  who  were  in  the  national  Con- 
gress afterward,  one  a  Senator,  He  has  a  grandson  now  in  the 
ministry  in  our  church,  the  Rev.  E.  G.  McLean,  of  California. 

Some  idea  of  the  way  in  which  the  revival  spread,  and  how  God 
pointed  out  to  the  presbytery  what  men  to  select  as  evangelists, 
may  be  received  from  the  following  incidents: 

James  B.  Porter  had  educated  himself  for  a  physician.  At  Shi- 
loli  camp-meeting,  in  Sumner  County,  Tennessee,  1801,  he  found 
the  Savior.  Soon  after  the  meeting  his  mother  took  him  with  her 
on  a  trip  to  South  Carolina.  At  every  house  where  they  stopped 
on  their  journey.  Porter  told  about  the  wonderful  grace  of  God  to 
his  soul,  and  commended  his  Savior  to  the  people.  There  were 
conversions  all  along  the  journey.  On  the  return  trip  Lorenzo 
Dow  had  a  public  meeting  in  which  he  made  Porter  exhort,  and 
God  greatly  blessed  the  exhortation. 

The  case  of  Alexander  Chapman  is  similar.  Soon  after  his  con- 
version he  went  on  a  visit  to  his  uncle  in  Virginia.  On  his  arrival 
he  found  the  family  about  starting  to  their  weekly  prayer-meeting. 
He  accompanied  them.  After  two  or  three  prayers  the  way  was 
opened  for  any  one  to  read,  or  pray,  or  make  remarks.  Chapman, 
who  had  been  brought  up  in  the  neighborhood,  and  whose  profes- 
sion of  religion  was  unknown  there,  rose  and  gave  an  exhortation. 
A  revival  began  at  once,  and  spread  over  the  community  until 
more  than  one  hundred  persons  professed  faith  in  Christ.  Among 
these  were  several  of  his  cousins,  who  lived  many  years  to  adorn 
the  profession  which  they  had  made.  The  Rev.  Mr,  Robinson,  the 
pastor  in  that  community,  gave  his  hearty  indorsement  ,to  the 
young  man's  zeal  and  usefulness.' 

Owing  to  the  great  distance  between  the  two  settlements  which 
belonged  to  Transylvania  Presbyter>^,  the  synod  divided  it,  and  cre- 
ated the  Cumberland  Presbytery.  This  presbytery  embraced  all 
the  Green  River  and  Cumberland  settlements,  and  all  that  portion 
of  the  synod   in   which  those  grave   differences  of  opinion   had 

'  Bird's  Life  of  Chapman,  p.  35. 


Chapter  VII.]  MINISTERIAL  EDUCATION.  57 

arisen,  out  of  which,  at  last,  "the  Cumberland  schism"  sprang. 
As  the  Transylvania  Presbytery  had  received  into  membership  a 
Methodist  by  the  name  of  Hawe,  and  as  he  resided  in  the  bounds 
assigned  to  Cumberland  Presbytery,  the  revival  party,  by  his  aid, 
had  a  majority  of  one.  The  new  presbytery  ordained  Anderson, 
Ewing,  and  King.     That  gave  the  revival  party  a  decided  majority. 

Against  all  these  measures  in  which  men  were  employed  as  ex- 
horters  or  preachers  without  a  classical  education,  the  anti-revival 
party  took  a  decided  stand.  Their  protests  in  several  instances 
were  entered  on  the  Minutes  of  the  presbytery ;  but  the  revival  party 
were  in  the  majority,  and  had  things  their  own  way  for  a  season. 
The  synod,  however,  came  at  last  to  the  relief  of  the  minority. 

This  question  about  the  Westminster  standard  of  ministerial 
education  being  made  a  sine  qzia  non  for  the  pulpit,  is  a  live  ques- 
tion yet.  So,  too,  is  the  question  about  how  to  conduct  revival 
meetings.  Three  out  of  the  four  questions  of  that  day  are  still 
debated;  though  with  a  growing  majority  in  all  three  in  favor  of 
the  views  then  taken  by  the  revival  party.  On  the  fourth  question 
(the  ecclesiastical  one),  all  parties  concede  now  that  the  founders 
of  our  church  were  right. 

While  we  believe  the  course  pursued  by  the  revival  party  was 
wise  and  scriptural,  we  believe  also  that  it  has  been  abused  by 
many  of  our  presbyteries  since.  Three  errors  have  prevailed. 
One,  in  overlooking  "aptness  to  teach"  and  spirituality,  which 
neither  education  nor  the  lack  of  it  can  ever  supply.  Another  is  in 
attributing  the  wonderful  spiritual  power  of  Calhoun  and  his  asso- 
ciates to  their  lack  of  education.  If  lack  of  collegiate  education 
gives  this  wonderful  spiritual  power,  why  is  it  that  all  the  army  of 
uneducated  ministers  in  our  church,  and  in  other  churches,  to-day 
do  not  have  it?  The  third  error  is  in  calling  Ewing  and  Donnell 
and  their  comrades  uneducated  men,  and  holding  up  their  example 
as  an  excuse  for  laziness  and  stupidity,  as,  alas!  so  many  of  our 
presbyteries  have  done.  True,  these  men  were  not  graduates 
of  any  college,  and  what  scholarship  they  had  was  not  obtained 
according  to  regulation  methods,  but  for  all  that  they  were  edu- 
cated men  and  profound  thinkers.  Their  education  came  as  Daniel 
Boone's  did.     They  availed  themselves  of  all  the  facilities  in  their 


58  CUMBERI^AND   PRESBYTERIAN  HiSTORY.  [Period  I. 

reach.  They  carried  text-books  in  their  saddle-bags  and  studied 
at  night.  They  studied  men,  and  profoundly  studied  their  English 
Bibles.  Most  that  colleges  do  for  men  is  to  teach  them  how  to 
think;  tliese  men  had  that  lesson,  no  matter  how  they  obtained  it. 
Between  these  men  and  the  lazy  boy  of  to-day  who  has  it  in  his 
power  to  secure  a  college  education  and  will  not  do  it,  there  is  no 
similarity  at  all,  and  their  example  is  a  rebuke  rather  than  an  apol- 
ogy to  all  such. 

Akin  to  this  error  of  some  of  our  own  people  is  a  slander  from 
some  who  do  not  understand  us.  ' '  They  went  out  of  the  Pres- 
byterian church  because  they  were  opposed  to  education,"  is  a 
threadbare  slander  still  circulated.  Many  times  utterly  refuted, 
this  slander  is  still  peddled  out  as  the  most  effective  way  of  injur- 
ing our  church.  The  real  issue  is  not  about  the  inestimable  value 
of  education,  but  about  the  propriety  of  allowing  exceptions  to 
the  requirement  of  a  classical  education  in  cases  of  great  pressure, 
like  those  of  Ewing  and  King,  when  clearly  demonstrated  use- 
fulness on  the  part  of  the  aspirant  combines  with  a  very  great 
demand  for  his  special  services  on  the  part  of  the  destitute. 
Whether  it  was  better  to  allow  whole  vast  areas  of  destitute  settle- 
ments to  remain  without  the  gospel  entirely,  or  to  send  them  sound 
teachers  who  loved  souls  and  knew  the  way  of  salvation,  though 
they  did  not  know  either  Latin  or  Greek — that  was  the  question. 

Neither  the  fathers  of  our  church  nor  their  sons  failed  to  appre- 
ciate an  educated  ministry'.  It  requires  considerable  grace  patiently 
to  argue  such  a  proposition  at  this  late  day,  but  I  think  God  will 
give  me  grace  to  do  it. 

Proof  I.  Ephraim  McLean  was  one  of  the  fathers  of  our  church. 
When  he  was  ordered  to  prepare  for  ordination  along  with  Ewing 
and  King,  he  said:  "Give  me  a  little  more  time  and  I  shall  be 
able  to  come  fully  up  to  the  standard.  I  am  fully  up  now  in 
every-  thing  but  Greek,  and  am  working  hard  at  that."'  They 
granted  his  request,  but  with  the  understanding  that  he  should  pur- 
sue his  studies  on  the  circuit.  This  he  diligently  did.  They  cared 
for  souls,  but  they  cared  for  scholarship  too.  McLean  then  had  a 
wife  and  six  children,  and  was  preaching  without  any  compensa- 

Incidents  furnished  by  his  son,  Finis  E.  McLean. 


Chapter  VII.]  MINISTERIAL   EDUCATION.  59 

tion  whatever.  His  wife  and  boys  made  their  support  on  their 
Kentucky  farm,  and  his  wife  with  her  own  hands  spun  the  thread 
and  wove  the  cloth  for  his  clothing.  Our  fathers  thought  it  was 
worth  while  to  endure  trials  that  the  perishing  multitudes  might 
have  the  gospel.  Nor  is  this  all  in  McLean's  case.  When  his 
boys  were  old  enough  to  go  off  to  school  he  discussed  the  case  with 
his  noble  wife,  and  fell  upon  a  plan  for  their  education.  His  wafe 
took  charge  of  the  farm  herself,  and  by  heroic  struggles  and  sacri- 
fices supported  the  family  and  kept  her  boys  at  school  and  her  hus- 
band on  the  circuit.     Was  that  husband  opposed  to  education? 

Proof  2.  All  the  men  who  took  part  in  the  organization  of  the 
Cumberland  Presbyterian  church  left  the  strongest  possible  testi- 
mony that  they  held  a  thorough  education  in  the  highest  esteem. 

Finis  Ewing  left  his  testimony  in  several  forms.  He  spent 
large  sums  of  money  in  establishing  a  classical  school  near  his 
home  in  Kentucky,  and  that  before  the  organization  of  our  first 
synod;  and  when  this  school  was  established  he  would  have  none 
but  thorough  classical  teachers  in  it.  This  was  the  first  classical 
school  in  all  that  portion  of  Kentucky.'  Afterward  he  sent  his 
own  son,  who  was  then  looking  to  the  ministry,  to  college  and 
■gave  him  a  thorough  education.  When  he  moved  to  Missouri  he 
set  to  work  to  establish  a  school  for  the  classical  and  theological 
education  of  the  ministry  in  Missouri,  and  he  filled  his  large 
house  full  of  young  preachers  going  to  school,  to  whom  he  gave 
gratuitous  boarding. 

Still  further,  when  our  first  college  was  proposed,  and  the  prac- 
ticability of  establishing  both  a  classical  and  theological  college, 
with  ample  endowment,  was  under  discussion.  Finis  Ewing  made 
a  speech  in  favor  of  the  enterprise  which  Dr.  Cossitt,  a  graduate  of 
a  New  England  college,  who  heard  it,  pronounced  the  ablest  of  all 
the  pleas  for  an  educated  ministry  that  he  had  ever  listened  to. 
To  his  dying  day  Dr.  Cossitt  maintained,  and  published,  and  reiter- 
ated his  declaration  that  he  had  heard  no  plea  for  an  educated  min- 
istry equal  to  Ewing' s  great  speech.  Ewing  wrote  for  the  col- 
lege some  of  the  ablest  pleas  I  ever  read.  When  I  was  president 
of  Cumberland  University,  and  struggling  hard  to  lift  the  institu- 

'  Incidents  reported  bj  Hon.  F.  E.  McLean. 


6o  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.  [Period  i. 

tion  up  from  the  wreck  where  the  civil  war  had  left  it,  the  most 
telling  appeal  I  made  to  our  people  in  behalf  of  our  college  was 
made  by  republishing  some  of  Finis  Ewing's  pleas  for  old  Cumber- 
land College. 

Samuel  King  traveled  as  agent  for  the  endowment  of  our  first 
college.  Thomas  Calhoun  had  a  son  who  entered  the  ministrj'. 
He  sent  that  son  to  college  and  afterward  to  a  theological  school. 
He  nearly  all  his  life  was  aiding  some  young  preacher  to  obtain  a 
college  education. 

Samuel  McAdow  was  himself  a  graduate,  but  his  infirm  health 
prevented  his  taking  any  very  active  share  in  any  kind  of  work 
after  the  organization  of  the  new  church. 

Robert  Donnell  traveled  as  agent  for  our  first  college,  at  his 
own  expense,  and  published  many  earnest  pleas  for  it.  He  deliv- 
ered a  course  of  lectures  to  the  theological  class  at  Lebanon,  Ten- 
nessee. He  declared  a  thoroughly  endowed  theological  school  to 
be  a  necessity  of  the  church.  He  himself  gave  large  sums  to  that 
endowment.  In  discussing  the  necessity  of  a  thoroughly  endowed 
college  he  says,  in  a  letter  published  in  the  Banner  of  Peace^ 
^''Witlioitt  it  we  can  not  prosper  as  a  body.'''' 

All  the  first  numbers  of  our  church  papers  teem  with  earnest 
articles  from  those  men  who  planted  the  church,  urging  the  impor- 
tance of  thorough  education. 

Proof  3.  Early  ecclesiastical  action.  The  council  formed  by 
the  revival  preachers  before  the  organization  of  our  first  presbytery 
addressed  a  letter  to  the  General  Assembly,  in  which  they  say: 
' '  We  never  have  embraced  the  idea  of  an  unlearned  ministry.  The 
peculiar  state  of  our  country  and  the  extent  of  the  revival  reduced 
us  to  the  necessity  of  introducing  more  of  that  description  than  we 
otherwise  would.  We  sincerely  esteem  a  learned  and  pious  minis- 
try, and  hope  the  church  will  never  be  destitute  of  such  an  orna- 
ment. ' '  ^ 

The  first  presbyter}''  of  our  church  thought  proper  to  place  itself 
on  record  also.  The  very  first  year  of  that  presbytery's  existence 
it  addressed  a  circular  letter  to  the  churches  under  its  care,  in 
which  it  told  those  churches,  and  all  the  others  concerned  in  the 

'  Smith's  History,  p.  624. 


Chapter  VII.]  MINISTERIAL  EDUCATION.  6l 

case,  to  have  no  fears  of  any  laxness  in  educational  requirements; 
declaring  its  purpose  to  require  a  classical  education  in  all  cases 
where  that  was  practicable,  and  when,  in  exceptional  cases  and 
emergencies  that  was  dispensed  with,  in  no  case  to  dispense  with 
a  thorough  English  education. ' 

Our  first  presbytery,  the  first  year  of  its  existence,  commenced 
raising  money  to  educate  its  young  preachers.  It  instructed  those 
who  came  as  candidates,  while  still  young  enough  to  secure  an 
education,  to  go  to  school  first.  Philip  McDonnold  was  a  poor 
boy,  who  had  shown  his  eagerness  for  an  education  before  he 
applied  to  presbytery  to  be  received  as  a  candidate.  Presbytery 
determined  to  receive  him  and  defray  the  expenses  of  his  thorough 
education,  and  it  carried  out  this  determination.  This  was  the 
first  year  of  that  presbytery's  life  and  its  first  official  act  about  edu- 
cation. The  official  records  of  our  first  three  presbyteries  abound 
in  strong  declarations  of  the  great  importance  of  an  educated  min- 
istry, and  declare  it  to  be  "absolutely  necessary  for  us  to  have  a 
college  of  our  own. ' ' 

A  convention  of  delegates  from  the  presbyteries  met  in  1822  to 
consider  the  question  of  a  college  for  the  church.  See  Minutes  of 
Elk  Presbyter}-^,  and  other  minutes.  Three  years  before  we  had  a 
General  Assembly,  those  founders  of  our  church,  who  traveled  in 
homespun  clothing  made  by  their  wives,  and  carried  text-books  in 
their  saddle-bags  while  they  went  seeking  the  lost  am.ong  the 
pioneer  settlements,  established,  through  the  General  Synod,  a  col- 
lege for  the  education  of  young  preachers.  Our  later  work  need 
not  now  be  mentioned. 

A  curious  fact  of  history  deserves  now  to  be  noticed.  It  is  this: 
During  the  first  twenty  years  of  our  existence,  what  was  called 
' '  the  anti-revival  party ' '  of  the  mother  church  strenuously  denied 
that  lack  of  classical  education  was  one  of  the  charges  against  us.* 
Heresy  and  disorderly  conduct  in  revival  meetings  were  then  asserted 
to  be  the  offenses.  Our  church  had,  at  first,  no  theological  litera- 
ture, and  it  was  an  easy  matter  to  make  people  who  knew  us  not 

'Dr.  Frizzell's  Semi-centennial  Pamphlet,  p.  14. 

''See  "The  anonymous  pamphlet  of  Kentucky  Synod;"  J.  L.  Wilson's  letters 
in  The  Standard,  1832;  Religious  and  Literary  Intelligencer,  April  5,  1832,  etc. 


62  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.         [Period  i. 

believe  that  we  held  horrible  heresies.  Not  only  were  we  charged 
privately  and  publicly  with  the  grossest  heresies,  but  also  with  the 
most  abominable  practices  in  our  meetings.  Good  and  true  men 
who  lived  where  we  were  unknown  believed  these  reports  which 
appeared  in  pamphlets  and  newspapers,  and  repeated  them  in  dig- 
nified volumes.  The  Rev.  J.  L.  Wilson,  D.  D. ,  who  was  one  of  the 
commission,  and  who  never  ceased  to  pursue  and  persecute  "the 
Cumberlands ' '  till  he  was  called  to  his  final  account,  wrote  a  long 
article  for  his  church  paper  in  1832,  taking  the  same  ground,  and 
declaring  the  statement  in  Buck's  Theological  Dictionar>'  about  the 
educational  issue  to  be  a  falsehood.  David  Lowr}',  then  editing 
our  church  paper,  replied  to  Dr.  Wilson,  and  argued  that  education 
was  one  of  the  issues.  [See  Religious  and  Literary  Intelligencer^ 
April  5,  1832.] 

How  the  winds  do  change!  Now  the  cry  is  that  the  question 
of  ministerial  education  was  the  real  cause  of  the  schism,  and  the 
doctrinal  difference  is  ignored  or  denied  altogether.  Once  we  were 
charged  with  denying  the  atonement,  denying  original  sin,  deny- 
ing imputation,'  and  with  various  similar  heresies.  Now  it  is 
asserted  even  by  the  New  York  Observer  that  practically,  and  in 
our  pulpits,  "there  is  no  difference."  It  would  not  be  hard  to 
point  out  the  reason  for  this  shifting  of  the  winds,  but  it  would  not 
be  edifying.  No  harm  comes  to  us  from  these  charges.  The  taunts 
about  education  have  done  us  good.  Let  us  go  on  our  way  trying 
to  please  God,  and  pay  no  attention  to  any  misrepresentations 
which  men  may  make  of  us  or  our  doctrines. 

The  main  question  stands  to-day  about  where  it  did  in  1800. 
Many  millions  are  perishing  for  lack  of  the  gospel.  It  is  a  modem 
thought,  revived  from  New  Testament  examples,  after  a  long  sleep, 
that  the  gospel  is  to  be  carried  with  the  utmost  zeal  and  speed  to 
every  perishing  human  being.  To  shut  it  up  in  a  select  circle,  and 
deliver  it  officially  from  stately  pulpits  with  learned  illustrations 
and  elegant  diction  before  cultivated  audiences,  may  suit  the  tastes 
of  ambitious  ecclesiastics;  but  there  is  a  far  more  stirring  \aew  of 
its  solemn  mission  which  is  beginning  to  break  in  upon  the  vision 

'  See  Dr.  Wilson's  charges  quoted  in  Religious  and  Literary  Intelligencer,  Feb- 
ruar_y  and  April,  1832.     See  also  Pittsburgh  Herald^  1S35,  fassim. 


Chapter  VII.]  MINISTERIAL   EDUCATION.  63 

of  modern  churches.  The  appalling  spectacle  of  a  city  on  fire  pre- 
sents no  such  stirring  appeals  for  sympathy  and  assistance  as  do 
the  millions  of  our  fellow-men  who  are  now  perishing  in  their  sins. 
There  is  no  time  to  lose.  Our  generation  will  be  beyond  the  reach 
of  the  gospel  when  we  pass  away. 

God  is  dealing  with  the  churches  of  this  day.  While  lay  evan- 
gelism has  been  abused,  it  is  manifest  that  God  is  in  it.  Educate? 
Yes,  to  the  utmost.  Let  all  secure  the  best  training  possible. 
When  good  men  have  spirituality  and  aptness  to  teach,  and  feel  it 
to  be  their  duty  to  proclaim  salvation  to  lost  men,  but  have  no 
opportunity  to  secure  a  classical  education  —  hold  them  back  ? 
No,  never. 

Who  would  blot  out  the  record  of  Moody's  work?  Ah!  even 
Dr.  McCosh,  at  staid  old  Princeton,  gives  Moody  a  hearty  welcome 
to  those  classic  seats;  and  God  uses  Moody  even  there.  Yes,  and 
uses  him  at  the  grand  old  colleges  of  England,  too. 

The  Southern  Presbyterian  church,  which  has  been  so  wonder- 
fully conservative,  is  seriously  considering  the  propriety  of  chang- 
ing its  standard  on  this  subject.  A  standing  committee  has  been 
appointed  to  investigate  the  question.  A  long  circular  has  been 
sent  out  by  one  of  that  committee,  ably  advocating  the  change. 
This  circular  shows  that  the  ratio  of  increase  in  a  hundred  years 
between  the  Presbyterian  and  Methodist  churches  is  as  47  to  105 1. 
It  shows  that  "aptness  to  teach,"  which  is  a  Bible  qualification,  is 
not  proved  by  the  possession  of  a  college  diploma,  which  is  not. 
Indeed,  there  is  no  essential  connection  between  the  two.  It  shows 
that  the  evangelization  of  the  masses  was  not  in  the  plans  of  the 
Westminster  Assembly. 

The  one  great  question  which  the  awakened  Christianity  of  to- 
day has  to  settle  is  how  best  to  evangelize  the  masses.  This  one 
great  work  will  require  the  diligent  use  of  all  the  church's  forces. 
We  have  not  a  man  or  a  woman  to  spare.  In  some  sphere  or  other 
all  are  to  help.  Men,  women,  and  little  children  are  all  to  share  in 
this  activity  for  Jesus.  God  will  lead  each  trusting  soul,  and  indi- 
cate to  each  one  who  is  pliant  in  his  hands  just  what  work  to  do. 
Consecrated  workers  in  still'  greater  numbers,  we  trust,  are  coming 
up  to  give  heart  and  life,  tongue  and  pen,  to  the  service  of  the 


64  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.         [Period  i. 

King.  Ecclesiastical  courts  may  advise  and  help,  they  may  pray 
for  and  defend  them ;  they  may  and  they  will  soon  be  forced  to  pro- 
vide a  place  in  their  ecclesiastical  macliiner>'  for  this  uncanonical 
army,  which  cares  a  thousand  times  more  for  souls  than  it  does  for 
church  canons  and  rubrics.  The  churches  which  refuse  to  do  so 
will  go  into  the  same  category  with  the  Jewish  church  after  it 
rejected  its  own  Messiah. 

One  measure  which  is  both  scriptural  and  canonical  needs  to  be 
revived  by  all  the  presbyteries:  that  is  the  policy  of  licensing  cat- 
echists  or  exhorters.  If  that  had  been  diligently  followed,  many 
of  the  embarrassing  questions  of  the  present  day  would  have  been 
forestalled.  ♦ 

Another  step  will  have  to  be  taken.  God  in  his  providence  has 
sent  us  back  to  learn  over  again  the  teachings  of  his  word  about 
woman's  sphere  in  helping  on  the  gospel. 

When  Mrs.  Ranyard,  unaided  by  any  ecclesiastical  recognition, 
by  the  simple  pra}'er  of  faith  secures  the  necessary  means  and 
employs  two  hundred  Bible-women  to  labor  all  the  time  for  Jesus 
among  the  outcast  portions  of  London ;  and  when  God  blesses  these 
labors  to  thousands  of  perishing  souls,  what  church  court  would 
dare  come  in  with  its  ecclesiastical  gag  to  stop  these  women's 
mouths  ? 

When  Elizabeth  Clay,  leaving  her  aristocratic  home  among  the 
high-churchmen  of  England,  goes  to  heathen  India,  and  year  after 
year  makes  a  regular  circuit  of  a  thousand  miles  preaching  Jesus 
to  the  women  of  heathendom,  and  God  uses  her  in  leading  many 
to  salvation  who  never  heard  the  gospel  from  other  lips,  shall  any 
mitered  churchman  dare  interpose  his  ecclesiastical  gag,  and  say  to 
this  devoted  woman.  Stop!  this  is  not  canonical? 

One  of  the  bitter  complaints  against  the  revival  methods  of 
1800  was  that  women  would  "get  happy,"  and  even  dare  to  exhort 
sinners  in  church  and  in  public.  It  was  to  one  such  exhortation 
that  the  church  and  the  country  owes,  under  God,  the  conversion 
of  that  holy  servant  of  Jesus,  the  Rev.  James  B.  Porter.  Would 
that  we  had  more  such  women  now. 

What,  in  my  estimation,  is  needed  in  ecclesiastical  courts  is  to 
provide  for  and  lead  this  lay  activity,  and  not  sit  still  and  be  led 


Chapter  VII.]  MINISTERIAL  EDUCATION.  65 

and  superseded  by  it.  For  lack  of  fatherly  direction  (not  suppres- 
sion), it  has  run  into  many  hurtful  errors,  and  may  yet  become 
extensively  mischievous ;  while  with  proper  direction  it  may  yet  be 
the  church's  right  arm  of  power.  In  saying  this  it  is  not  intended 
to  reflect  upon  or  set  aside  the  regular  ministry,  but  rather  to  stir 
up  their  pure  minds  by  way  of  remembrance. 
5 


66  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.         [Period  i. 


CHAPTER   VIII. 


THE  THIRD  DIFFICULTY  — DOCTRINES  — RESERVA- 
TIONS IN  ADOPTING  THE  BOOK. 

The  wages  of  sin  is  death;  the  gift  of  God  is  eternal  life. 
Neir  mezzo  del  cammin.' — Dante. 

THE  young  men,  when  licensed  by  the  Cumberland  Presby- 
tery, made  reservations  in  adopting  the  Confession  of  Faith. 
They  thought  that  a  particular  and  limited  atonement  and  uncon- 
ditional election  amounted  to  fatality.  They  were  willing  to  take 
the  book  "for  substance,"  after  precedents  which  could  be  cited  in 
great  numbers,  but  they  are  of  no  value  to  us  now.  If  the  tradi- 
tional system  of  Calvinism,  without  any  modern  liberalizing,  is  to 
be  maintained  at  all,  then  no  reserv^ation  in  the  adoption  of  the 
book  should  be  tolerated  for  one  moment.  Reservation  is  a  leak 
in  the  d)-kes  of  Holland.  The  whole  vast  sea  of  modern  thought 
presses  on  the  barriers.  ' '  If  the  book  were  not  in  existence,  there 
is  no  modern  church  which  would  ever  produce  it."^  The  one 
lingering  hope  is  to  hold  the  anchorage  to  "the  time -honored 
standards."     How  long  that  anchorage  will  hold  time  will  reveal. 

There  are  meanings  to  the  word  fatality  which  all  know  do  not 
attach  to  the  Westminster  Confession.  There  are  others  which 
many  people  still  think  apply  to  that  book.  Webster  defines  fate 
to  mean,  among  other  things,  "A  decree  or  word  pronounced  by 
God;"  "A  fixed  sentence  by  which  the  order  of  things  is  pre- 
scribed;" ^''inevitable  necessityy  These  are  the  popular  and  com- 
mon ideas  of  what  fatality  means:  the  doctrine  of  inevitable  neces- 
sity. It  carried  the  chief  thinkers  of  the  world  once.  Its  reign 
took  in  the  purest  and  best  men  of  another  age;  but  ^'' Ilium  fiiity 

I  quote  here  an  illustration  of  the  doctrine  which  our  fathers 

'  In  the  middle  of  the  track. 

=  Dr.  James  H.  Brooks  said  this  in  substance,  if  not  ipsisstmis  verbis. 


Chapter  VIII.]  DOCTRINES.  67 

called  fatality.  The  quotation  is  from  grand  old  John  Bunyan. 
"Is  there  ever  a  time  in  the  life  of  a  sinner,  who  is  not  one  of  the 
elect,  when  it  is  possible  for  him  to  repent  and  be  saved?  To  this 
I  answer  emphatically,  No."'  This  is  the  doctrine  from  which 
modern  thought  shrinks  shivering  away.  If  this  doctrine  be  not 
in  the  Westminster  Confession,  then  there  are  some  very  unfortu- 
nate paragraphs  in  the  book  which  greatly  need  to  be  changed. 

Our  fathers  believed  that  no  man  is  sent  to  hell  without  having 
a  chance  to  be  saved.  They  preached  the  doctrine  of  a  general 
atonement,  and  the  operation  ot  the  Holy  Spirit  on  all  men. 

And  now  I  come  to  a  vital  part  of  this  history.  The  one 
supreme  difficulty  which  could  not  be  reconciled^  and  which  still 
stands  an  insuperable  obstacle  to  a  reunion,  is  this  doctrinal 
difficulty. 

Dr.  Davidson,  in  his  history  of  "  the  Cumberland  schism,"^  says: 
"It  was  not  the  want  of  classical  learning,  but  nnsotindness  in 
doctrine^  the  adoption  of  the  Confession  with  reservations  (charge 
second,  as  already  alluded  to),  that  created  the  grand  difficulty;  and 
the  removal  of  this  would  have  wonderfully  facilitated  the  accom- 
modation of  the  other." 

Samuel  Hodge  was  one  of  "the  young  men."  His  literary 
qualifications  were  much  lower  than  Ewing's  or  Anderson's,  but 
when  he  agreed  to  adopt  the  Confession  without  reservation,  he 
was  taken  back,  and  allowed  to  continue  his  ministry.  All  the 
young  men  who  were  involved  in  this  difficulty,  after  some  delay, 
made, an  offer  to  the  Transylvania  Presbytery  that  they  would  yield 
on  all  other  points,  and  come  back  in  a  body,  3  if  they  might  still 
be  allowed  to  make  this  reservation  about  fatality;  and  their  offer 
was  rejected. 

Two  charges  were  brought  officially  against  these  preachers  by 
the  commission  of  Kentucky  Synod:  (i)  That  they  were  illiterate; 
(2)  That  they  held  erroneous  doctrine. -*  In  the  apology  for  their 
proceedings,  made  by  the  members  of  Kentucky  Synod  to  the  Gen- 

'This  quotation  is  given  from  memory. 

=  Davidson's  History  Presbyterian  church  in  Kentucky,  p.  255.       3  Ibid.,  p.  256. 

*  Davidson's  History  Presbyterian  church  in  Kentucky,  p.  239,  where  the  Min- 
utes of  the  Commission  are  quoted.  "  Not  only  illiterate,  but  erroneous  in  senti- 
ment," is  the  wording. 


68  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.         [Period  i. 

eral  Assembly,  they  stated  explicitly  that  unsoundness  in  doctrine 
constituted  the  chief  difficulty;  and  they  deny  that  the  lack  of 
classical  education  was  the  greatest  difficulty.^ 

The  General  Assembly,  in  1814,  gave  a  deliverance  about  the 
Cumberland  Presbyterians,  in  which  the  following  words  were  used: 
' '  The  grounds  of  their  separation  were  that  we  would  not  relax 
our  discipline  and  surreiider  important  doctrines.''     [Italics  mine.] 

The  members  of  the  council,  after  the  Assembly  gave  its  final 
decision  against  them  in  1809,  sent  two  commissioners  to  negotiate 
with  the  synod  for  a  reconciliation.  The  terms  laid  down  by  the 
members  of  the  synod,  on  which  they  were  willing  to  be  reconciled, 
included  an  unconditional  adoption  of  the  Confession  of  Faith.  3 

In  1811  there  were  three  other  ecclesiastical  deliverances  about 
this  doctrinal  difficulty.  The  West  Tennessee  Presbytery  and  the 
]\Iuhlenberg  Presbytery  (Presbyterian)  undertook  to  secure  a  recon- 
ciliation. First,  they  addressed,  through  an  unofficial  letter,  some 
inquiries  to  the  General  Assembly  about  what  terms  could  be 
accepted.  The  answer  was,  among  other  things,  an  unconditional 
adoption  of  the  book.'^ 

This  doctrinal  difficulty  stands  to-day  the  main  barrier  between 
the  Cumberland  Presbyterians  and  the  mother  church.  Proof  of 
this  assertion  can  be  found  in  the  negotiations  for  organic  union  in 
1866  and  1867  with  the  Southern  church,  and  1873  and  1874  with 
the  Northern  church.  In  both  of  these  negotiations  (neither  of 
which  originated  officially  with  the  Cumberland  Presbyterians  5), 
the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  committees  offered  to  surrender^ever}'' 
existing  difference  except  the  doctrinal  one.  I  have  all  the  docu- 
ments before  me,  but  need  not  make  extracts  now.  In  the  plat- 
form of  union  submitted  by  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  commit- 
tee to  the  Southern  church  was  a  new  creed,  which  contains  about 
as  much  Calvinism  as  we  ever  hear  in  Presbyterian  pulpits  in  mod- 
ern times,  but  that  platform  was  not  accepted.  It  went  as  far  as  it 
is  possible  for  us  to  go.     That  platform  proposed  to  take  the  West- 

'  Davidson's  History  Presbyterian  church  in  Kentucky,  p.  255. 
^Digest,  p.  157.         3  Smith,  pp.  635,  6S1. 
''Baird's  Digest,  pp.  157,  645. 

5  Presbyterian  General  Assembly  Minutes  (South),  1S66,  p.  30.  Presbyterian 
General  Assembly  Minutes  (North),  1873,  p.  4S5. 


Chapter  VIII.]  DOCTRINES.  69 

minster  Confession  entire,  except  the  third,  fifth,  and  eighth  chap- 
ters, for  which  it  offered  the  following  substitutes: 

Chapter  III. — Of  God's  eternal  decrees. 

Section  i.  God  did  from  all  eternity  adopt  the  whole  plan  of  his 
creation  and  providence  with  a  full  knowledge  of  all  the  events  which 
would  transpire  therein,  including  the  sins  of  men  and  angels.  These 
events  he  determined  either  to  bring  to  pass  by  his  own  direct  and  abso- 
lute agency,  or  to  permit  them  to  come  to  pass  in  view  of  the  results 
which  his  bounding  and  overruling  providence  would  bring  out  of  the 
whole  plan. 

Section  2.  According  to  the  determinate  counsel  and  foreknowledge 
of  God,  he  did  from  all  eternity  elect  to  salvation  all  true  believers  in 
Jesus  Christ.  This  election  was  perfectly  definite  as  to  the  persons 
elected,  and  also  as  to  their  number:  and  God  did  in  like  manner  from 
eternity  reprobate  to  eternal  perdition  all  that  finally  reject  Jesus  Christ, 
and  this  reprobation  was  also  definite  as  to  person  and  number. 

Section  3.  Those  of  mankind  that  are  predestinated  unto  life,  God, 
before  the  foundation  of  the  world  was  laid,  according  to  his  eternal 
and  immutable  purpose  and  the  secret  counsel  and  good  pleasure  of  his 
will,  hath  chosen  in  Christ  unto  everlasting  glory,  out  of  mere  free 
grace  and  love,  all  to  the  praise  of  his  glorious  grace. 

Section  4.  As  God  hath  appointed  the  elect  unto  glory,  so  hath  he 
by  the  eternal  and  most  free  pui'pose  of  his  will,  foreordained  all  the 
means  thereunto.  Wherefore  they  who  are  elected,  being  fallen  in 
Adam,  are  redeemed  by  Christ,  are  effectually  called  unto  faith  in 
Christ  by  his  Spirit  working  in  due  season,  are  justified,  adopted,  sanc- 
tified, and  kept  by  his  power  through  faith  unto  salvation. 

Section  5.  The  doctrine  of  this  high  mystery  of  predestination  is  to 
be  handled  with  special  prudence  and  care,  that  men  attending  the  will 
of  God  revealed  in  his  word  and  yielding  obedience  thereunto,  may 
from  a  certainty  of  their  vocation  be  assured  of  their  eternal  election; 
so  shall  this  doctrine  afford  matter  of  praise,  reverence,  and  admiration 
of  God,  and  of  humility,  diligence,  and  abundant  consolation  to  all  that 
sincerely  obey  the  gospel. 

We  make  the  same  references  which  are  made  in  the  Presbyterian 
Confession  of  Faith,  with  the  addition  of  i  Peter  i,  2,  and  Romans 
viii.  29. 

Chapter  V.    We  offer  the  following  modification  for  section  fourth: 

Section  4.  The  almighty  power,  unsearchable  wisdom,  and  infinite 
goodness  of  God,  so  far  manifest  themselves  in  his  providence,  that  it 
extendeth  itself  not  only  to  those  acts  which  God  absolutely  decrees, 
but  also  to  those  which  he  permits,  joining  with  it  a  most  wise  and 


70  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.  [Period  i. 

powerful  bounding,  and  otherwise  ordering  and  governing  them  in  a 
manifold  dispensation  to  his  own  holy  ends. 

Chapter  VIII.  We  ofler  the  following  as  a  substitute  for  section 
eight: 

Section  8.  Although  Jesus  Christ  tasted  death  for  every  man,  accord- 
ing to  the  Scriptures,  yet  the  benefits  of  this  death  are  savingly  applied 
to  those  only  who  are  chosen  unto  life  through  sanctification  of  the  Spirit 
and  belief  of  the  truth;  but  to  all  those  thus  chosen  these  benefits  are 
so  applied  as  to  insure  their  eternal  salvation. 

We  ofter  the  tenth  chapter  in  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  Confes- 
sion of  Faith,  instead  of  the  tenth  chapter  in  the  Presbyterian  Confes- 
sion of  Faith. 

In  chapter  seventeen  we  offer  this  change  in  section  second:  substi- 
tute for  the  phrase  "not  upon  their  own  free  will,"  the  phrase  "not 
upon  their  own  ability  or  merit." 

Fmally,  we  propose  to  modify  certain  expressions  in  the  Catechisms, 
so  as  to  make  them  correspond  with  the  changes  indicated  in  reference 
to  the  Confession  of  Faith. 

As  far  as  possible  the  wording  of  the  old  book  was  retained, 
even  when  it  required  some  explanation  to  fit  that  wording  into 
the  general  scheme.  The  tenth  chapter,  on  effectual  calling,  in 
our  book  differs  from  the  old  in  the  meaning  put  on  the  word 
"calling."  Whether  the  hard  places  in  the  Westminster  Confes- 
sion be  justly  called  fatality  or  not,  they  are  too  hard  for  us.  We 
believe  the  doctrine  of  grace,  but  we  think  it  needs  to  be  restated. 

One  fact  most  clearly  pointing  to  this  necessity  is  that  there  are 
no  Calvinists  now  of  the  type  which  composed  the  majority  of  the 
Westminster  Assembly.  Leaving  Supralapsarian  and  Infralapsa- 
rian  questions  all  out  of  the  discussion,  it  is  plain  to  all  who  study 
the  writings  of  the  Westminster  divines  that  many  of  them  be- 
lieved, as  Calvin  before  them  did,  that  there  are  infants  in  hell. 
No  modern  Presbyterians  believe  any  such  a  thing.  No  man  dare 
preach  any  such  a  doctrine  now. 

In  the  first  draft  of  Westminster  doctrines,  the  majority  stated 
their  creed,  "elect  of  infants."  The  liberal  party  objected.  To 
compromise  matters,  the  statement  was  so  modified  that  both  par- 
ties might  claim  it,  but  with  a  very  decided  advantage  given  to  the 
interpretation  which  the  majority  wished  to  put  on  the  deliverance: 
"Elect  infants"  are  saved.     So  of  other  places.     The  creed  is  a 


Chapter  VIII.]  DOCTRINES.  7I 

compromise,  but  always  with  an  immense  advantage  given  to  the 
views  of  that  hyper- Calvinistic  majority. 

In  modem  times  it  is  the  hardest  surviving  type  of  rigid  Cal- 
vinists  who  insist  on  an  unconditional  adoption  of  the  creed.  The 
liberal  party  insist  on  the  phrase,  ' '  for  substance. ' '  Robert  Shaw 
had  easy  sailing  in  interpreting  the  book  according  to  the  hard  old 
traditional  Calvinism.  Dr.  Morris  and  Dr.  Schaff  have  a  hard  time 
of  it  trying  to  fit  the  liberal  system  to  the  book.  True,  it  can  be 
done;  but  the  process  by  which  it  is  done  is  itself  objectionable. 

A  genuine  Calvinist  of  the  liberal  school  gave  utterance  to  this 
same  view  of  the  case  while  advocating  before  his  presbytery  a 
change  in  some  of  the  hard  places  in  the  book.  This  Calvinist 
was  the  Rev.  Dr.  MacCrae,  of  the  United  Presbyterian  church  of 
Scotland.  His  speech  was  made  in  1876,  and  reported  by  the  press. 
He  says:'  "I  am  aware  that  every  doctrine  in  the  book  can  be 
defended  or  explained  away.  But  some  of  the  casuistry  employed 
for  this  purpose  is  as  discreditable  as  the  doctrine  it  is  used  to 
defend.  For  instance,  the  Confession  says  '  elect  infants  '  are  saved. 
The  other  side  of  the  doctrine  obviously  is  that  non-elect  infants 
are  cast  into  hell.  This  was  not  only,  in  former  days,  admitted 
and  preached,  but  within  the  memory  of  fathers  and  brethren  in 
this  presbytery,  one  of  the  most  eminent  ministers  of  our  church 
was  like  to  have  been  brought  before  the  church  courts  for  deny- 
ing it." 

When  the  Synod  of  Diospolis  arraigned  Pelagius  for  heresy,  one 
of  the  charges  brought  against  him  was  that  he  taught  that  unbap- 
tized  infants  dying  in  infancy  are  saved.  It  is  vain  to  deny  that 
the  world,  including  the  Calvinists,  has  been  drifting  slowly  away 
from  this  and  other  hard  doctrines  since  Pelagius. 

Another  proof  that  some  of  the  hard  expressions  of  the  old 
book  need  to  be  changed,  is  found  in  the  outburst  of  protest 
against  it  coming  from  real  Calvinists  whenever  the  spirit  of  evan- 
gelism comes  upon  them.  To  quote  all  these  protests  would  fill 
many  a  volume.  As  Dr.  Phelps  (speaking  of  these  stern  doctrines) 
says:  "A  preacher  ....  finds  them  to  be  incumbrances  upon  the 
working  power  of  the  pulpit."     Whenever  his  heart  grows  warm 

'  Qiioted  frorij  the  Evangelical  Repository,  March,  1877. 


72  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.         [Period  i. 

with  the  gospel  he  begins  to  feel  that  something  is  wrong  in  the 
creed.     Thus  Dr.  Chalmers  breaks  forth: 

The  commission  put  into  our  hands  is  to  go  and  preach  the  gospel 
to  every  creature  under  heaven,  and  the  announcement  sounding  forth 
to  all  the  world  from  heaven's  vault  was,  Peace  on  earth,  good-will  to 
men.  There  is  no  freezing  limitation  here,  but  a  largeness  and  munifi- 
cence of  mercy,  boundless  as  space,  free  and  open  as  the  expanse  of 
the  firmament !  We  hope,  therefore,  that  the  gospel,  the  real  gospel, 
is  as  unlike  the  views  of  some  of  its  interpreters  as  creation  in  all  its 
boundless  extent  is  unlike  the  paltry  schemes  of  some  wretched  scho- 
lastic of  the  middle  ages.  The  middle  age  of  science  and  civilization 
is  now  terminated;  but  Christianity  also  had  its  middle  age,  and  this, 
perhaps,  is  not  yet  fully  terminated.  There  is  still  a  remainder  of  the 
old  spell,  even  the  spell  of  human  authority,  and  by  which  a  certain 
cramp  or  confinement  is  laid  upon  the  genius  of  Christianity.  We  can 
not  doubt  that  the  time  of  its  complete  emancipation  is  coming,  .... 
but  meanwhile  there  is,  as  it  were,  a  stricture  upon  it,  ...  .  and  by 
virtue  of  which  the  largeness  and  liberality  of  Heaven's  own  purposes 
have  been  made  to  descend  in  partial  and  scanty  droppings  through 
the  strainers  of  an  artificial  theology,  instead  of  falling,  as  it  ought,  in 
a  universal  shower  upon  the  world.' 

That  stanch  leader  among  modern  Calvinists,  Dr.  Philip  Schaff, 
of  Union  Theological  Seminary,  says  of  the  Westminster  Confes- 
sion: "  Predestination  to  death  and  damnation  ....  ought  never 
to  be  put  in  the  creed  or  Confession  of  the  church,  but  should  be 
left  to  the  theology  of  the  school.'"'  Again,  he  says  of  the  sev- 
enth section  of  the  third  chapter:  "This  seventh  section  is  one 
dark  spot  on  the  Confession,  and  mars  its  beauty  and  usefulness. ' '  ^ 
He  has  many  other  expressions  showing  that  he  holds  the  doctrine 
of  grace  in  much  the  same  sense  that  Cumberland  Presbyterians  do. 
Many  conscientious  men  who  hold  about  the  same  views  which  are 
preached  by  men  like  Dr.  SchafF  are,  nevertheless,  too  conscientious 
to  adopt  the  Westminster  Confession.  One  of  our  men  was  talking 
with  a  modern  Calvinist,  when  the  latter  said  to  him,  "Why,  you 
preach  as  much  Calvinism  as  I  do.  You  would  have  no  difficulty 
in  our  church. ' '  The  answer  was,  ' '  O  the  ministry  in  your  church 
is  like  a  bottle:  there  is  room  enough  when  you  get  in,  but  there 

'Inst.,  Vol.  II.,  ch.  vi.         *  Creeds  of  Christendom,  Vol.  I.,  p.  791. 
3 Creeds  of  Christendom,  Vol.  I.,  p.  792.     Note. 


Chapter  VIII.]  DOCTRINES.  73 

is  such  a  narrow  neck  to  pass  through  before  you  get  in."  Yes, 
that  is  the  trouble. 

Cumberland  Presbyterians  believe  pretty  much  the  same  doc- 
trines that  the  liberal  modern  Calvinists  preach,  but  they  can  not 
get  through  the  neck.  They  believe  in  total  depravity.  They 
believe  that  man  is  utterly  unable  to  come  to  Christ  till  he  is 
drawn  by  God's  Spirit.  They  believe  that  all  the  initiative  steps 
toward  salvation  are  from  God.  They  believe  that  even  infants 
need  regeneration.  They  believe  the  theory  of  justification  by 
faith  alone.  They  believe  in  the  imputed  righteousness  of 
Christ.  They  believe  that  the  Christian's  legal  standing  is  in 
Jesus  and  not  in  works.  They  believe  that  God's  overruling 
providence  extends  to  every  thing,  but  is  not  the  author  of  every 
thing.  They  believe  in  the  perseverance  of  the  saints,  but  they 
can  not  take  that  third  chapter  of  the  Westminster  Confession. 
They  would  have  no  difficulty  in  accepting  the  doctrinal  decla- 
ration '  of  the  United  Presbyterian  Church  of  Scotland,  if  it  were 
not  for  the  book  to  which  it  is  appended. 

One  trouble  with  all  of  us  is  that  we  want  our  creeds  to  be 
theodicies.  When  man  knows  all  that  God  knows  then  he  may 
write  a  theodicy,  and  not  till  then.  As  Dr.  Schaff  says,  the  West- 
minster Confession  attempts  to  give  deliverances  on  matters  that 
ought  never  to  go  into  a  church  creed.  As  Dr.  Phelps  says,  that 
book  contains  doctrines  which  we  can  not  use  in  our  work  for 
Jesus.  While  the  Cumberland  Presbyterians  aimed  at  making  a 
working  creed,  it  is  a  pity  that  they  still  exhibited  some  of  the  old 
penchant  for  making  a  theodicy.  In  the  main,  though,  theirs  is  a 
creed  for  the  pulpit  and  the  mission. 

A  typical  fact  exceedingly  significant,  is  found  in  the  debates 
of  the  Belfast  council  of  Presbyterians  about  the  admission  of  our 
delegates.  A  precious  Presbyterian  missionary  to  the  heathen  was 
the  mover  and  the  advocate  of  our  admission.  A  Presbyterian 
preacher  who,  it  is  said,  has  charge  of  no  congregation — a  scholas- 
tic Calvinist — was  the  chief  opponent  to  our  admission.  Both 
he  and  Dr.  Worden,  of  Philadelphia,  in  their  remarks,  betrayed 

'Declaration  of  1879.  I  have  a  copy  in  the  handwriting  of  its  author,  sent  me 
by  Dr.  Ferguson,  of  Glasgow. 


74  CUMBERI^AND   PRESBYTERIAN   HISTORY.  [Period  I. 

the  profoundest  ignorance  of  the  transactions  of  their  own  General 
Assemblies,  and  provoked  Dr.  Morris,  of  Lane  Seminary,  to  give 
them  a  whack  over  the  shoulders  which  was  heard  clear  across  the 
Atlantic. 

Workers,  wherever  we  find  them,  who  have  their  hearts  set  on 
the  salvation  of  lost  men,  extend  to  Cumberland  Presbyterians  the 
most  hearty  co-operation.  Even  at  a  time  when  the  ecclesiastical 
bitterness  which  "the  Cumberland  schism"  produced  was  still  a 
burning  fire  in  Kentucky,  the  Presbyterian  missionaries  then  in 
Mississippi  Territory  passed  resolutions  inviting  the  Cumberland 
Presbyterian  church  to  send  more  preachers  among  them,  and 
indorsing  those  already  there.'  Yes,  this  is  our  place,  our  field, 
our  mission,  beside  those  live  workers  who  are  struggling  for 
souls.  God  never  called  us  to  scholasticism.  Writing  theodicies 
is  not  in  our  commission.  Working  for  souls  with  all  our 
forces  is. 

Side  by  side  with  every  man  that  loves  Christ  more  than  all 
other  things,  to  struggle  for  the  evangelization  of  the  world,  is  the 
high  calling  which  God  has  given  to  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian 
church.  With  all  our  forces  used,  whether  more  or  less  learned; 
with  all  our  creed,  practical  and  available  for  the  pulpit,  to  take 
our  places  in  the  solemn,  thrilling  struggle  for  those  now  perish- 
ing, is  the  mission  to  which  God  calls  us.  If  aught  in  our  policy 
or  in  our  creed  fits  not  into  this  mission,  let  it  be  abandoned.  With 
sweet  confidence  to  go  wherever  there  are  lost  men,  and  without 
any  "freezing  limitations,"  to  preach  Christ,  not  theories  about 
him,  not  works,  not  doctrines,  but  a  personal  divine  Deliverer 
who  will  save  all  that  accept  and  trust  him  —  this  is  our  first 
mission. 

Our  second  mission  is  also  Christ — to  preach  him  to  the  Chris- 
tian; Christ  dwelling  in  us;  realized  by  faith,  as  the  way  of  victory 
over  all  evil  habits,  as  the  way  of  sanctification.  To  preach,  not 
works,  not  self,  not  some  imparted  power,  not  some  second  con- 
version, not  theories  about  sanctification,  not  growth,  but  that 
"same  Jesus"  who  dwells  in  us,  trusted  for  victor}^  over  sin's 
power,  just  as  he  was  trusted  for  victory  over  sin's  penalty,  and 

^Revivalists  April  17,  1S33. 


Chapter  VIII.]  DOCTRINES."  75 

this  also  without  any  "freezing  limitation" — this  is  our  second 
mission. 

Our  third  mission  is  also  Christ — to  preach  the  indwelling  God, 
not  some  imparted  thing,  but  Christ  in  us,  realized  by  faith  as 
the  way  of  all  power  for  service,  with  no  "freezing  limitation." 
Not  human  attainments,  but  Christ  accepted  and  installed  as  King 
within,  and  his  presence  realized  by  faith,  and  his  promise,  "I 
will  never  leave  thee  nor  forsake  thee,"  clung  to  and  believed  in,  in 
spite  of  all  failures,  not  on  account  of  the  dead  covenant  of  works, 
but  on  account  of  the  everlasting  covenant  of  grace — ah,  this 
made  our  first  preachers  a  race  of  invincible  heroes!  In  this  work, 
and  with  a  faith  like  this,  we  can  never  make  a  failure. 

In  all  three  of  these  missions  both  the  extremes  between  which 
we  steer  our  way  present  "freezing  limitations,"  If  works  are  to 
be  relied  on  in  either  of  the  three,  then  the  limitation  comes  from 
the  rottenness,  and  imperfections,  and  uncertainties  of  all  human 
works.  If  the  "unalterable  necessity"  of  "unconditional"  the- 
ology be  the  iron  fence  that  bounds  our  hopes,  then  the  ' '  freezing 
limitation"  in  all  three  of  these  missions  comes  from  that  iron 
fence. 

Our  theology  is  belief  in  the  boundless  divinity  of  the 
Redeemer,  able,  ready,  and  willing,  in  each  of  the  three  missions, 
on  the  simple  condition  of  trust  and  nothing  else  to  give  us  the 
victory.  No  preparation  is  necessary,  no  human  scaffolding  up  to 
salvation  or  other  blessings,  but  Christ  trusted  just  as  we  are.  Our 
starting  point  is  not  God's  eternal  and  unrevealed  decrees,  nor 
man's  will  nor  man's  powers,  but  Christ  and  his  divine  power,  and 
his  dying  love,  and  his  unfailing  promise?,  and  his  gracious  invi- 
tations.    This  is  the  tried  corner-stone  of  our  system. 

Christ  is  the  truth  as  well  as  the  way.  A  theological  school 
may  cover  a  student  all  over  with  theories  about  Christ,  and  hide 
a  personal  Savior  from  his  eyes  so  as  to  send  him  out  at  last  a  mere 
proclaimer  of  theories.  Or  it  may  be  an  institution  conducted  by 
men  who  are  themselves  filled  with  all  the  fullness  of  God;  who 
not  only  know  the  power  of  the  indwelling  Savior,  but  have  expe- 
rience and  success  in  leading  others  to  that  knowledge;  and  they 
may  lead  their  pupils  on  and  up  in  the  blessed  experience  of  the 


76  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.         [Period  i. 

divine  life  till  those  pupils,  when  they  go  out  into  their  life-work, 
will  be  an  army  filled  with  divine  power.  The  latter  is  the  only 
type  of  a  theological  school  which  will  ever  fit  into  the  Cumber- 
land Presbyterian  system,  or  be  in  harmony  with  Cumberland 
Presbyterian  antecedents.  F'rom  all  others  may  the  good  Lord 
deliver  us. 


Chapter  IX.]  ThE   COMMISSION.  ']^ 


CHAPTER   IX. 


FOURTH  DIFFICULTY— TRAMPLING  ON  A  PRESBYTE- 
RY'S  CONSTITUTIONAL  RIGHTS  BY  A  SYNODICAL 
COMMISSION. 

In  vain  thej  smite  me;  men  but  do 
What  God  permits  with  different  view; 
To  outward  sight  thej  wield  the  rod, 
But  faith  proclaims  it  all  of  God. 

— Madame  Guyon. 

THE  two  parties  in  Cumberland  Presbytery  got  further  and 
further  apart.  The  ' '  anti-revival ' '  party  was  in  a  hopeless 
minority  in  the  presbytery,  but  it  had  a  large  majority  in  the  Ken- 
tucky Synod.  In  1805  that  synod  appointed  a  commission  of  ten 
ministers  and  six  elders  to  meet  at  Gasper  River  meeting-house  and 
investigate  the  proceedings  of  Cumberland  Presbytery  and  take 
such  action  as  the  case  required.  This  commission  was  composed 
of  all  the  men  in  the  "anti-revival"  party  of  the  synod  who  had 
rendered  themselves  most  obnoxious  to  the  other  party.  Whether 
justly  or  not,  the  revival  party  believed  that  the  work  aimed  at  by 
the  commission  was  not  the  correction  of  abuses,  but  the  suppres- 
sion of  the  revival.  All  the  preachers  and  probationers  for  the 
ministry  belonging  to  the  revival  party  of  Cumberland  Presbytery 
received  a  regular  citation  to  appear  before  this  commission.  Most 
of  them  obeyed.     The  commission  met  December  3,  1805. 

I  have  before  me  a  full  copy  of  the  proceedings  of  the  commis- 
sion, taken  from  the  record  book  by  Lowry  and  Smith,  while  they 
were  editing  the  church  paper.  The  words  of  the  charges  are 
these: 

They  did  license  a  number  of  young  men  to  preach  the  gospel,  and 
some  of  them  they  ordained  to  preach  the  gospel  and  administer  ordi- 
nances \x\.  the  church,  contrary  to  the  rules  and  regulations  of  the  Pres- 
byterian church  in  such  cases  made  and  provided;  and,  whereas,  these 


78  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.         [Period  i. 

men  have  been  required  by  said  presbytery  to  adopt  the  said  Confes- 
sion of  Faith  and  Discipline  of  said  church  no  further  than  they  beheve 
it  to  be  agreeable  to  the  word  of  God,  etc. 

These  charges  are  repeated,  in  substance,  three  times  in  the 
records  of  the  commission,  and  are,  in  substance,  just  what  Dr. 
Davidson  makes  them.  The  General  Assembly  paraphrased  the 
charges  thus:  "Licensing  and  ordaining  a  number  of  persons,  not 
possessing  the  qualifications  required  by  our  Book  of  Discipline 
and  without  explicit  adoption  of  our  Confession  of  Faith." 

No  prosecutor  was  named.  No  specifications  were  made,  but 
on  these  general  charges  the  commission  required  the  Cumberland 
Presbytery  to  submit  all  its  probationers  for  the  ministr}',  and  also 
four  of  its  ordained  ministers,  to  the  commission  for  re-examina- 
tion. To  this  requirement  the  majority  of  the  presbytery  refused 
to  submit,  claiming  that  the  constitution  of  the  church  made  the 
presbytery  the  sole  judge  of  the  qualifications  of  its  own  probation- 
ers, and  that  no  other  church  court  had  a  right  to  arraign  and  try 
one  of  that  presbytery's  ordained  ministers.'  It  was  not  a  case  of 
appeal  or  of  reference.  No  charges  had  ever  been  brought  against 
these  four  ordained  ministers  in  their  own  presbytery.  Neither  the 
synod  nor  its  commission  had  any  right  to  originate  process  of  trial 
in  these  cases. 

The  commission  then  appealed  to  "the  young  men,"  as  the 
accused  were  called,  to  come  forward  and  submit  to  the  examina- 
tion. The  young  men  asked  leave  to  retire  and  pray  for  divine 
direction.  Their  request  was  ridiculed,-  but  a  telling  speech  by  a 
layman  in  favor  of  granting  the  request  turned  the  current,  and 
they  were  allowed  to  retire.  Each  went  alone  to  the  woods  for 
silent  prayer.  Each  returned  alone.  Each  one  separately  declined 
to  submit.  Then  the  commission  forbade  all  of  them  to  preach 
by  virtue  of  any  authority  received  by  them  from  Cumberland 
Presbytery.  Ewing  and  King,  however,  did  not  receive  their 
licensure  from  Cumberland  Presbytery.  Of  course  that  fact  was 
forgotten  by  the  commission.  The  other  young  men  placed  under 
the  interdict  were  numerous,  including  several  mere  catechists  who 
never  aspired  to  the  work  of  the  ministry;  but  those  whose  names 

»  Discipline,  ch.  v.  sec.  2. 


Chapter  IX.]  ThE   COMMISSION.  79 

are  of  special  interest  to  our  people  were  Robert  Guthrie,  James 
B.  Porter,  David  Foster,  Hugh  Kirkpatrick,  Thomas  Calhoun, 
Robert  Bell,  Ephraim  McLean,  Alexander  Chapman,  and  William 
Moore. 

But  the  commission  had  no  right  to  originate  process  against  a 
minister,  nor  to  suspend  or  depose  a  minister.  Its  action  was  ille- 
gal, unconstitutional,  null,  and  void.  Precedents  away  back  in  the 
state  church  of  Scotland  are  quoted,  but  there  is  not  one  of  these 
precedents  that  does  not  reek  with  the  odors  of  state  tyranny,  over- 
riding and  subduing  the  lawful  church  courts.  Riding  commit- 
tees, high  courts  of  commission,  and  popery  all  go  together. 

There  was  a  written  constitution  in  the  Presbyterian  church  in 
America.  No  matter  what  was  done  in  Scotland.  No  matter  if 
the  Westminster  Assembly  itself  did  ordain  men  to  preach.  In 
the  constitution  of  the  American  Presbyterian  church  the  sole  and 
exclusive  right  to  ordain  was  placed,  where  the  Bible  places  it,  in 
the  hands  of  the  presbytery. '  Nor  is  there  one  single  word  in  all 
the  book  giving  that  right  to  any  other  court. 

As  to  trial  of  a  preacher,  the  constitution  fixes  that  beyond  all 
dispute.  "Process  against  a  gospel  minister  shall  always  be  entered 
before  the  presbytery  of  which  he  is  a  member."  (Discipline, 
ch.  V.  2.) 

What  then  is  the  synod's  redress  when  a  whole  presbytery  goes 
wrong  in  its  ordinations?  It  can  dissolve  that  presbyter}^,  and 
attach  its  members  to  some  other.  ^ 

That  intensely  partisan  history  of  the  Presbyterian  church  in 
Kentucky,  written  by  Dr.  Davidson,  has  this  remarkable  concession 
about  this  commission:  "Thus  terminated  one  of  the  most  inter- 
esting and  important  convocations  ever  known  in  the  American 
church;  without  precedent^  and^  thus  far^  without  i?nitatio7i.'''* 
[Italics  mine.]  It  seems  to  be  the  accepted  policy  of  the  Presbyte- 
rian church  now  to  obey  the  constitution,  and  restrict  the  right  to 
originate  process  against  a  minister  to  his  own  presbytery.  [See 
McPherson's  Hand  Book,  pp.  141,  144,  146.] 

One  significant  fact  is  brought  to  light  by  Dr.  Crisman's  valua- 
ble little  book,  "Origin  and  Doctrines,"  pp.  jj^  78,  and  that  is  that 

*  Form  of  Government,  ch.  x,  sec.  8.        » Ibid.,  ch.  xi.  sec.  4. 


8o  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.         [Period  i. 

the  very  year  in  which  the  first  presbytery  of  our  church  was  organ- 
ized, the  General  Assembly  of  the  mother  church  pronounced  the 
assumptions  of  a  synod  to  try  a  minister  when  there  was  no  appeal 
— that  is,  to  originate  process  of  trial  against  a  minister — unconsti- 
tutional. When  asked  the  next  year  to  reconsider  the  deliverance 
of  the  preceding  year  on  this  subject,  the  Assembly  declined  to  do 
so,  and  adhered  firmly  to  its  former  decision.  [See  Baird's  Digest, 
PP-  447,  448,  468.] 

The  General  Assembly  of  1807  disapproved  this  assumption  of 
authority  by  the  commission  of  Kentucky  Synod,  and  if  it  had  not 
been  for  the  doctrinal  trouble,  an  appeal  to  that  Assembly  would 
have  settled  all  the  difficulty. 

But  no  matter  what  the  Assembly  did  or  would  have  done,  the 
revival  party  stood  on  their  constitutional  rights  when  they  refused 
to  submit  to  the  commission's  demands.  In  doing  so  they  gave  a 
check  to  popish  usurpations  in  the  Presbyterian  church  so  decided, 
that  there  has  been  no  effort  since  to  repeat  them  in  that  particular 
way. 

Along  with  the  traditions  and  written  testimonies  about  this 
meeting  of  the  commission  at  Gasper  River  church,  come  up  two 
conflicting  multitudes  of  angry  voices,  both,  however,  agreeing  in 
two  things:  First,  that  "the  young  men"  who  were  arraigned 
were  prayerful,  dignified,  and  firm.  Second,  that  the  chief  mani- 
festations of  bitterness  against  the  commission  were  made  by  the 
people,  and  not  by  the  revival  preachers.  To  this  Mr.  Rankin, 
who  never  joined  the  Cumberland  Presbyterians,  was  the  only 
exception. 

For  the  popular  feeling  it  would  be  easy  to  find  an  apology. 
The  object  of  the  commission  was  looked  upon  as  one  more  effort 
to  put  a  stop  to  the  great  revival.  It  was  put  in  the  same  category 
with  the  visits  to  McGready's  churches  and  McGready's  members 
in  1798  by  Mr.  Balch,  who  went  from  house  to  house  and  from 
church  to  church,  ridiculing  the  revival,  and  trying  to  embarrass 
the  young  converts. 

The  place  of  meeting  was  unfortunate.  The  revival  party  had 
been  shut  out  of  that  meeting-house,  and  had  established  their 
place  of  worship  in  the  adjacent  grove.     Among  the  members  of 


Chapter  IX.]  ThE   COMMISSION.  8l 

the  commission  were  men  who  had  been  the  fiercest  partisans 
against  the  revival.  Mr.  Lyle,  who  had  succeeded  in  winning  pre- 
eminence as  an  unscrupulous  enemy  of  the  revival,  and  who  had 
traveled  among  the  revival  churches,  as  they  thought,  ' '  in  the  capac- 
ity of  a  spy, ' '  preached  the  opening  sermon  —  if  a  harangue  three 
hours  long  against  the  measures  of  Cumberland  Presbytery  may  be 
called  a  sermon.  Mr.  Rankin,  the  most  excitable  of  the  revival 
party,  harangued  the  people  on  the  other  side  of  the  question, 
going  for  that  purpose  to  the  grove  where  the  revival  party  had 
established  their  place  of  worship. 

The  popular  feeling  of  the  neighborhood  had  been  roused 
against  "Mr.  Lyle  and  his  commission"  to  such  an  extent,  that 
none  of  the  people  near  the  church  out  of  which  the  revival  party 
had  been  locked,  would  open  their  houses  to  the  commissioners. 
Mr.  Cameron,  who  had  also  won  the  title  of  "the  spy,"  was  present 
with  these  commissioners.  Joshua  L.  Wilson,  who  to  the  day  of 
his  death  pursued  "the  Cumberlands"  with  a  malignity  which 
would  have  disgraced  a  Romish  priest  in  the  days  of  Martin  Luther, 
was  also  one  of  the  commissioners.  But  Rice  and  other  conserva- 
tive men  of  the  synod  were  not  on  the  commission. 

The  revival  party  complained  much  of  the  haughty  and  dicta- 
torial language  used  by  the  commission  in  all  its  demands  upon 
them.  It  often  reminded  them  that  they  were  no  longer  where 
they  were  in  a  majority,  and  could  have  things  their  own  way,  but 
were  standing  at  the  bar  of  their  masters,  arraigned  for  triah 

Ah!  well;  we  have  had  enough  of  that.  God  rules.  The  actors 
in  that  scene  have  all  long  ago  gone  before  a  tribunal  which  never 
makes  any  mistakes.  One  thing  we  do  know.  God  still  used  the 
revival  party  in  leading  poor  sinners  to  their  Savior. 


SECOND  PERIOD. 


CHAPTER  X. 


THE  NEW  CHURCH. 

Small,  but  a  work  divine, 
Frail,  but  of  force  to  withstand, 
Year  upon  year,  the  shock 
Of  cataract  seas  that  snap 
The  three-decker's  oaken  spine. 

— Maud. 

AFTER  the  commission  had  delivered  its  verdict,  the  revival 
party  organized  themselves  into  a  council.  They  agreed  on 
several  things.  First,  that  they  would  not  cease  preaching  on 
account  of  any  interdict  of  the  commission;  second,  that  they 
would  refrain  from  official  presbyterial  action;  third,  that  they 
would  try  to  keep  the  revival  churches  alive  and  foster  the  revival; 
and  finally,  that  they  would  labor  for  a  reconciliation  with  the 
synod  and  the  Presbyterian  church. 

The  revival  party  failed  to  appeal  from  the  decision  of  the  com- 
mission, because  they  utterly  repudiated  its  right  of  jurisdiction  in 
tr>'ing  and  silencing  ordained  ministers.  The  next  meeting  of  the 
synod  put  all  chances  of  appeal  in  the  prescribed  fonn  out  of  their 
power,  by  dissolving  the  Cumberland  Presbytery  and  remanding  all 
the  parties  and  their  complaints  to  Transylvania  Presbytery.  It  is 
plain  that  no  appeal  could  have  relieved  the  doctrinal  difficulty, 
though  all  the  other  difficulties  might  have  been  settled. 

The  council  spent  four  years  in  a  vain  struggle  for  reconcilia- 
tion. It  was  not  God's  will  that  any  reconciliation  should  be 
affected.  The  council  sent  a  letter  of  remonstrance  to  the  General 
Assembly  in  1807.  The  case  was  warmly  debated.  The  Assembly 
(82) 


Chapter  X.]  ThE  NEW  ChuRCH.  83 

sent  two  letters,  one  to  the  synod  approving  some  of  its  actions, 
but  disapproving  its  assumption  of  right  to  originate  trial  against 
a  minister,  and  advising  the  synod  to  revise  its  action.  The  other 
letter  was  to  the  members  of  the  council,  condemning  their  course 
in  rejecting  the  doctrine  of  fatality,  but  expressing  sympathy  in 
other  things. 

The  synod  did  revise  its  action,  but  it  re-affirmed  its  decisions; 
explaining,  however,  that  its  interdict  against  the  ordained  preach- 
ers was  not  meant  for  suspension  in  the  technical  sense. ' 

Owing  to  the  failure  of  the  synod  to  send  up  its  Minutes,  the 
case  did  not  reach  the  Assembly  again  till  1809 — not  in  the  regular 
way,  at  least.  The  council,  however,  had  a  letter  before  the  Assem- 
bly of  1808.  To  this  letter  an  unofficial  answer  was  sent.  It  was 
written  by  Dr.  J.  P.  Wilson.  It  pronounced  the  commission  uncon- 
stitutional, and  advised  an  appeal  in  the  regular  way. 

In  1809  the  Minutes  of  synod  were  sent  up,  accompanied  by  a  let- 
ter from  the  synod,  and  John  Lyle,  the  bitter  enemy  of  the  revival 
measures,  was  their  bearer  and  defender.  Lyle  had,  in  a  high  de- 
gree, the  donum  lachrymariim — the  gift  of  tears — and  in  his  speech 
before  the  Assembly  his  weeping  and  his  oratory  carried  the  whole 
house.  Dr.  Davidson's  account  of  Lyle's  speech  represents  it  as 
having  completely  turned  the  tide,  so  that  the  Assembly  voted 
unanimously  for  sustaining  all  the  actions  of  the  synod,  in  this 
case,  and  added  a  vote  of  thanks  to  the  synod  for  its  fidelity.  ^  Dr. 
Davidson  uses  these  words  about  Lyle's  speech:  "Bursting  into 
tears,  he  made  a  most  impassioned  appeal,  and  the  Assembly  were 
so  affected  that  their  final  judgment  was  very  different  from  that  to 
which  they  had  at  first  inclined,"  [History  of  church  in  Ken- 
tucky, p.  119.]  The  case  was  now  finally  and  hopelessly  decided 
against  the  revival  party. 

In  August  of  the  same  year,  1809,  the  council  decided  to  make 
one  final  effort  at  reconciliation  with  the  synod,  and  if  that  failed, 
then  to  organize  an  independent  presbytery.  The  council  sub- 
mitted to  the  synod  its  ultimatum,  the  chief  point  of  which  was  that 
those  who  chose  to  do  so  should  be  allowed  to  make  the  reservation 


'  Davidson,  p.  248.      Minutes  of  the  Synod,  Vol.  I.,  pp.  140,  142. 
'Davidson's  History,  p.  250. 


84  CUMBERI^AND   PRESBYTERIAN  HISTORY.  [Period  II. 

about  fatality.  To  this  the  synod  would  not  agree.  The  council 
met  in  October,  1809,  and  heard  the  synod's  decision.  McGready 
and  Hodge  being  genuine  Calvinists,  withdrew  and  made  terms  for 
themselves  with  the  synod.  This  left  the  council  with  only  four 
ordained  members — McGee,  Ewing,  King,  and  McAdow.  McAdow 
was  in  feeble  health,  and  had  not  been  meeting  with  the  council. 
The  name  of  Rankin  never  appears  on  the  rolls  of  the  council  at 
all.  He  went  off  to  the  Shakers.  McGee  drew  back  from  carrying 
out  the  resolution  to  organize  an  independent  presbytery.  This 
left  them  without  the  constitutional  number.  They  adjourned 
with  the  understanding  that  the  solemn  obligation  into  which  they 
had  entered  to  form  an  independent  presbytery  should  remain 
in  force  till  the  next  March,  when,  if  a  presbytery  was  not  previ- 
ously constituted,  the  council  was  to  be  disbanded. 

Things  looked  gloomy.  Ewing  was  willing  to  constitute  with 
only  two  ordained  ministers.  James  B.  Porter,  a  licentiate,  exerted 
himself  to  enlist  a  third.  Ewing  and  King  met  together  and  went 
to  the  house  of  Ephraim  McLean  to  consult  with  him.  McLean's 
wife  joined  earnestly  in  the  consultation.'  This  was  the  second 
day  of  February,  18 10.  The  party  remained  till  a  late  hour  that 
night  at  McLean's  before  reaching  their  decision,  which  was  that 
they  would  go  next  day  to  the  Rev.  Samuel  McAdow' s  house,  in 
Dickson  County,  Tennessee,  and  ask  him  to  aid  in  ordaining 
McLean.  It  was  a  long  ride,  but  they  were  at  McAdow' s  before 
night.  McAdow  hesitated.  It  was  a  grave  step.  He  spent  the 
whole  night  in  prayer  over  the  case.  Next  morning  his  face  was 
all  aglow  with  light.  He  said  God  had  given  him  clear  assurance 
that  the  proposed  step  was  approved  of  Heaven. 

On  the  fourth  of  Februar>',  18 10,  they  organized,  or  reorgan- 
ized, the  Cumberland  Presbytery,  and  ordained  Ephraim  McLean. 
Years  afterward,  on  his  death-bed,  Mr.  McAdow  spoke  of  that  action, 
and  said  that  he  had  never  since  doubted  the  rectitude  of  their 
course  in  organizing  that  presbytery,  and  believed  it  was  done 
under  divine  sanction  and  direction. 

Against  these  three  men  no  charges  had  ever  been  brought  by 
their  own  presbyter>^,  which  was  the  only  ecclesiastical  court  to 

» Incidents  furnished  by  the  Hon.  F.  E.  McLean. 


Chapter  X.]  ThE  NEW  ChURCH.  85 

which  the  written  constitution  of  the  church  gave  the  right  to 
originate  process  of  trial  against  an  ordained  minister.  The  Ken- 
tucky Synod  itself,  after  the  action  of  its  commission  had  been 
called  in  question  by  the  General  Assembly,  explained  that  the 
action  of  the  commission  was  not  meant  for  suspension  in  the  tech- 
nical sense  of  that  word. 

Dr.  Ely,  who  held  a  high  position  in  the  Presbyterian  church, 
published  a  long  article  in  the  Philadelphian  in  regard  to  the  Cum- 
berland Presbyterians.  In  this  article  he  uses  the  following  words: 
' '  Of  these  three  men  (Ewing,  King,  McAdow)  it  is  admitted  on  all 
hands  that  they  were  never  deposed  from  the  Christian  ministry. ' ' 
This  whole  article  is  published  in  the  Revivalist  of  May  14,  1834, 
and  brings  to  light  the  fact  that  the  General  Assembly  sent  a  com- 
mittee to  the  Kentucky  Synod  to  remonstrate  with  that  body  about 
the  proceedings  of  its  commission.  Ah,  well !  Lyles'  tears  set  that 
all  right  afterward. 

After  the  organization  of  the  new  presbytery,  a  judicature  of 
the  mother  church  proceeded  to  silence  or  depose  these  three 
preachers,  but  these  acts  were  as  harmless  as  the  bulls  of  the  Pope 
hurled  at  Luther,  after  Luther  had  renounced  the  Pope's  authority. 
As  the  new  presbytery  grew,  circulars  and  other  publications  were 
sent  out  warning  the  people  that  the  new  church  had  no  right  to 
administer  ordinances.  This  provoked  a  smile  from  some,  and 
drew  forth  from  others  a  sharp  reply.  The  reply  held  up  in  con- 
trast the  ordination  of  the  first  Presbyterians  by  Roman  bishops, 
with  the  ordination  of  Ewing,  King,  and  McAdow  by  a  regular 
presbytery.  It  pointed  to  the  fact  that  a  large  majority  of  the 
Westminster  Assembly  divines  got  their  ordination  from  a  single 
bishop.  It  contrasted  the  first  presbytery  of  the  mother  church, 
organized  by  Viret  and  Farel,  with  the  organization  of  the  Cum- 
berland Presbytery.  It  called  attention  to  the  fact  that  neither  of 
these  two  men — Viret  and  Farel — had  ever  been  authorized  to 
ordain^  but  only  to  preachy  when  they  proceeded  to  ordain  Calvin. 
The  efforts  to  break  down  the  young  church  by  this  mode  of  attack 
utterly  failed,  and  were  soon  abandoned. 

I  have  used  the  language  of  Dr.  Davidson  in  calling  this  "the 
Cumberland  schism,"  but  this  epithet  is  misleading.     Only  four 


86  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.        [Period  ii. 

ministers  came  out  of  the  mother  church  into  ours  at  that  time. 
The  first  meeting  of  the  new  presbytery  had  no  churches  repre- 
sented. The  second  meeting,  regular,  had  just  one.  The  third 
meeting  had  none.  The  fourth  meeting,  after  a  year  of  wonderful 
toil,  had  six.  The  fifth  had  eight.  Several  of  these  had  been 
organized  by  the  new  presbytery.  By  and  by  some  more  of  the 
churches,  which  had  been  with  the  revival  party  before  the  split, 
cast  in  their  lots  with  the  new  church,  but  never  enough  of  them 
to  amount  to  a  schism.  The  membership  of  the  Cumberland  Pres- 
byterian church  to-day  is,  ninety  per  cent,  of  it,  made  up  of  con- 
verts won  from  Satan's  dominion,  and  not  of  proselytes  won  from 
other  churches.  In  the  beginning  it  was  an  exceedingly  little 
church. 

"The  green  tiny  pine  shrub  shoots  up  from  the  moss, 
The  wren's  foot  would  cover  it,  tripping  across, 
The  beech-nut,  down  dropping,  would  crush  it  beneath; 
But  warmed  by  heaven's  sunshine  and  fanned  by  its  breath, 
The  seasons  fly  past  and  its  head  is  on  high. 
And  its  thick  branches  challenge  each  mood  of  the  sky." 

Our  concern  now,  and  for  the  remainder  of  this  history,  is  with 
the  work  of  the  new  church.  The  new  Cumberland  Presbyter}' 
held  four  sessions  the  first  year.  At  these  four  meetings  it  ordained 
four  men  to  preach  the  gospel.  Besides  these  four,  William 
McGee  came  in.  He  had  been  with  them  in  heart  all  the  time. 
Never  was  there  greater  activity  and  zeal  than  the  new  presbytery 
manifested  in  tr}'-ing  to  carry  the  gospel  to  ever}'body  within  its 
reach.  Grand  meetings  were  held;  new  churches  were  organized, 
and  missionaries  were  sent  into  the  most  destitute  regions,  even  of 
the  mountain  districts.  Dr.  J.  Berrien  Lindsley  has  rendered  the 
church  good  service  by  publishing  all  the  Minutes  of  the  Cumber- 
land Presbytery,  but  ecclesiastical  records  can  not  be  given  here. 
Some  important  actions  of  the  new  presbyter}'  must  suffice.  One 
of  these  was  a  last  effort  at  reconciliation.  Commissioners  met  for 
the  purpose,  but  they  not  only  failed,  but  made  the  breach  wider, 
because  our  people  refused  to  surrender  their  reservations  about 
fatality.  Another  matter  worth  mentioning  was  the  purchase  of  a 
circulating  library  by  the  presbytery  for  the  benefit  of  its  proba- 
tioners.    This  was  a  policy  long  kept  up  in  all  the  presbyteries. 


Chapter  X.]  ThE   New   ChURCH.  87 

Another  was  the  temporary  adjustment  of  the  difficulties  about 
"the  union"  with  the  Methodists,  mentioned  in  a  former  chapter. 
Another,  and  a  very  important  measure,  was  raising  a  fund  for  the 
education  of  some  of  its  candidates  for  the  ministry. 

There  was  in  this  presbytery,  as  there  was  in  the  other  denom- 
inations of  that  day,  a  mode  of  dealing  with  probationers  for  the 
ministry  which  belongs  now  to  the  retumless  past.  The  same  feel- 
ing which  gave  rise  to  college  laws  requiring  a  freshman  when  he 
saw  a  senior  approaching,  to  stand  to  one  side,  hat  in  hand,  till  the 
senior  passed,  and  which  required  freshmen  to  black  the  seniors' 
boots,  showed  itself  in  all  the  treatment  of  boys,  whether  by 
parents,  school-teachers,  or  presbyters.  To  curb,  to  humble,  to 
train  to  physical  endurance,  and  the  endurance  of  wrongs  and  out- 
rages, was  considered  an  essential  part  of  the  discipline  through 
which  a  boy  had  to  be  taken.  Authority  was  a  tremendous  thing 
in  those  days.  A  presbyter  was  an  autocrat  among  the  probation- 
ers, and  woe  be  to  that  youth  who,  in  presbytery  or  out  of  presby- 
tery, disregarded  that  autocrat. 

While  this  was  the  accepted  rule  in  such  matters,  there  were 
men  whose  naturally  kind  hearts  made  them,  in  the  eyes  of  their 
stricter  co-presbyters,  grave  defaulters  in  enforcing  this  system.  I 
fear  they  felt  very  guilty  when  they  remembered  their  delinquen- 
cies, but  those  delinquencies  left  a  warm  glow  of  hope  and  cour- 
age in  many  a  poor  boy's  heart.  About  the  close  of  this  presby- 
terial  period  a  new  order  of  things  came  about.  Men  began  to 
break  the  old  regimen.  At  a  later  day  still,  spirits  as  sweet  as  an 
angel's,  even  in  dealing  with  boys,  were  led  by  such  genial  souls 
as  John  I,.  Dillard,  George  Donnell,  and  James  K.  Lansden. 
What  a  thrill  of  gratitude  comes  along  with  the  recollection  of 
these  blessed  servants  of  God  ! 

One  more  item  about  this  first  presbytery  deserves  commemora- 
tion. All  its  preachers  had  a  thorough  Presbyterian  training,  and 
were  scarcely  behind  the  Puritans  themselves  in  their  profound 
regard  for  the  Sabbath.  The  customs  of  their  families  in  this 
matter  were  regulated  strictly  by  the  Jewish  law.  No  wood  was 
gathered  or  carried,  much  less  cut,  on  the  Sabbath.  No  visiting, 
no  pleasure-riding,  no  cooking,  no  strolling  through  the  woods,  no 


88  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.        [Period  ii. 

whistling,  no  traveling,  except  to  church,  no  conversation  or  read- 
ing, except  on  religious  subjects,  was  tolerated.  If  a  child  com- 
mitted an  offense  worthy  of  stripes  the  penalty  was  delayed  till 
Monday  morning.  Stripes  were  not  scarce  in  those  days,  except 
on  the  Sabbath.  An  illustration  of  this  Sabbath  observance  is 
here  given.  In  my  boyhood  I  went  to  Thomas  Calhoun's  to 
board.  My  training  on  Sabbath  observance  had  been  of  the  mod- 
em character.  Sabbath  morning  came,  and,  seated  in  "Aunt 
Polly"  Calhoun's  room,  I  picked  up  a  newspaper  and  went  to 
reading.  Mrs.  Calhoun  stared  at  me  a  moment,  and  then  said, 
"That's  a  political  newspaper,  sir."  I  wondered  why  she  told  me 
that.  Did  she  think  I  had  not  sense  enough  to  know  what  sort  of 
paper  it  was?  I  read  on.  Presently  "Aunt  Polly"  raised  her 
glasses  and,  with  an  emphasis  that  frightened  me,  she  said,  "We 
don't  read  political  newspapers  on  Sunday,  sir."  O  I  knew  then 
why  she  told  me  what  sort  of  paper  it  was.  That  was  lesson  num- 
ber one  in  a  Presbyterian  Sabbath.  I  counted  those  lessons  by  the 
hundred  before  my  acquaintance  with  "Aunt  Polly"  closed.  The 
precious,  sterling,  kind  hearted  old  Puritan  that  she  was!  She 
used  to  put  sugar  in  my  sweet  milk;  she  used  to  mend  my  clothes, 
and  fill  a  mother's  place  to  me,  but  she  would  not  let  me  do  wrong. 
I  am  thankful  for  that  last  item  now  more  than  for  the  sugar  in 
my  sweet  milk. 

There  was  another  candidate  for  the  ministry  boarding  at  Cal- 
houn's, going  to  school.  One  Saturday  he  went  visiting,  stayed  all 
night,  came  to  church  next  morning,  and  then  came  home.  There 
was  nothing  said  that  day,  but  Monday  morning  before  breakfast 
the  Sabbath-breaker  was  called.  The  head  of  the  household  then 
began  to  clear  his  skirts  of  the  disobedience  to  God  which  one  who 
lived  under  his  roof  had  been  guilty  of.  That  one  had  been  away 
from  home  on  a  visit  on  the  morning  of  God's  holy  day,  not  only 
sinning  himself,  but  disturbing  the  Sabbath  rest  of  others,  and 
setting  an  example  of  Sabbath-breaking,  all  the  more  dangerous 
because  a  candidate  for  the  ministry  was  its  author.  Worse  still, 
the  Sabbath-breaker  lived  under  the  authority,  as  well  as  under 
the  roof-tree,  of  an  old  preacher,  and  might  be  supposed  to  repre- 
sent the  views  and  practices  which  that  old  preacher  tolerated. 


Chapter  X.]  ThE   NEW   ChURCH.  89 

Turning  to  the  oflfender  with  holy  indignation,  while  those  eagle 
eyes  blazed  with  Sinai's  fires,  he  shot  words  like  bullets  at  the  poor 
fellow  till  he  quailed,  and  withered,  and  writhed  like  a  tortured 
martyr  flayed  alive.  The  offense  was  not  repeated  by  that  boarder 
while  he  remained  at  Calhoun's  house,  although  he  was  a  mean 
man  and  never  came  to  any  good.  Calhoun  knew  him  and  was 
intentionally  severe. 

From  the  nature  of  the  case  the  little  handful  of  preachers  who 
composed  the  presbytery  could  not  settle  down  into  permanent 
pastorates.  In  this,  as  in  the  matter  of  education,  they  wisely 
adapted  their  actions  to  their  necessities.  In  both,  that  action  has 
since  been  unwisely  urged  as  a  precedent  under  circumstances 
wholly  different.  In  the  true  sense  of  the  word  pastor,  there  was 
none  in  the  church  till  many  years  later.  All  the  ministers  of  the 
second  period  were  missionary  evangelists.  There  is  no  grander 
chapter  in  all  church  history  than  the  record  of  these  evangelistic 
tours.  Their  circuits  extended  over  vast  fields,  some  of  them  five 
hundred  miles  in  diameter.  They  were  usually  sent  in  pairs,  one 
of  the  older  men  and  one  of  the  boys.  They  carried  bell  and 
"hobble"  for  their  horses;  crackers,  cheese,  and  a  tin  cup  for  them- 
selves. To  these  were  added  blankets  for  a  bed.  If  they  found 
lodgings  in  a  house  it  usually  had  but  one  room  and  they  slept  on 
their  own  blankets.  In  the  morning  the  owner  of  the  cabin  would 
take  his  gun  and  go  out  to  hunt  meat  for  breakfast.  Yet  in  such 
cabins  they  held  grand  meetings  and  organized  churches  which 
stand  to-day  in  the  midst  of  wealthy  communities.  In  many  neigh- 
borhoods the  pioneer  farmers  were  just  planting  their  first  crop. 

Robert  Donnell  held  a  camp-meeting  near  where  Huntsville, 
Alabama,  now  stands,  before  any  town  was  there.  Timber  grew 
thick  around  the  great  spring,  though  the  camp-meeting  was  not 
at  that,  but  at  another  spring  a  mile  below.  Calhoun  and  others 
held  a  camp-meeting  at  the  spring  where  the  town  of  Monroe,  Over- 
ton County,  Tennessee,  was  afterward  built.  None  of  these  men 
got  much,  if  any,  pay  at  first.  They  wore  homespun  clothing 
made  by  their  mothers  or  wives,  and  were  at  little  expense.  They 
often  swam  the  rivers,  because  there  were  no  ferry-boats  except  on 
the  thoroughfares. 


90  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.        [Period  il 

The  ordained  missionaries  of  the  presbytery  were  King,  Don- 
nell,  Calhoun,  McSpeddin,  Foster,  McLin,  Chapman,  Harris,  Kirk- 
patrick,  Bamett,  Bell,  and  McLean,  with  large  additions  to  the  list 
toward  the  close  of  this  presbyterial  period,  A  course  of  study 
prescribed  by  presbytery  was  regularly  kept  up  by  the  young  men 
on  all  these  tours  of  evangelism.  They  recited  to  their  seniors 
as  they  rode  along  on  their  horses.  This  was  the  normal  school  of 
science  and  divinity  for  the  first  Cumberland  Presbyterians.  While 
it  had  its  disadvantages,  it  generally  made  grand  thinkers.  Testi- 
monies from  the  ablest  alumni  of  the  old  colleges  are  in  existence 
showing  with  what  a  grasp  of  original  thought  these  men  took  up 
an  investigation.  A  college  president  once  sat  down  with  Reuben 
Burrow  to  investigate  a  Bible  question.  They  had  gone  but  a  little 
way  in  the  investigation  before  the  college  man  saw  that  he  was  in 
the  presence  of  his  master.  In  vigor  of  original  thought,  in  grasp, 
and  depth,  and  clearness  of  discernment,  he  could  hold  no  hand 
with  Burrow.  Dr,  Anderson,  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  warned 
his  friend,  Dr.  Blackburn,  against  entering  into  any  controversy 
with  Finis  Kwing,  on  the  ground  that  Ewing  would  prove  too  hard 
for  him.  He  said  Ewing  had  already  given  Blackburn  a  Braddock's 
defeat,     [See  Life  and  Times  of  Ewing,  p.  203.] 

What  heroism  it  required  to  enter  the  ministry  under  our  first 
presbytery!  There  were  no  pastorates,  no  salaries,  no  possibility 
of  earthly  honors.  To  travel  unpaid  on  horseback  across  wild 
wastes  to  the  homes  of  pioneers  in  the  new  settlements;  to  swim 
rivers,  and  sleep  on  the  bare  ground;  to  go  hungry  and  half  clad; 
to  belong  to  a  struggling  little  church  whose  doctrines  and  prac- 
tices were  diligently  misrepresented,  as  they  are  even  to  this  day; 
to  preach  in  floorless  log-cabins,  or  gather  the  rough  frontiersmen 
in  camps  around  some  spring,  and  there  labor  day  and  night  for  a 
week  that  poor  lost  men  might  be  saved,  and  that  our  new  territo- 
ries might  not  all  be  given  over  to  infidelity;  and  after  all  this,  to 
die  in  poverty  at  last,  was  the  prospect  before  that  generation  of 
our  preachers.     Thank  God  there  were  men  equal  to  the  occasion! 

Brief  biographical  sketches  of  the  ordained  ministers  of  the  new 
presbytery,  up  to  the  time  it  was  divided,  are  here  given: 

Samuel  McAdow  was  bom  in  North  Carolina,  April  10,  1760, 


Chapter  X.]  ThE  NEW  ChURCH.  9I 

and  was  converted  in  1771.  He  was  a  graduate  of  Mechlenburg 
College;  was  married  to  Henrietta  Wheatley,  in  1788;  licensed  in 
1797,  by  Orange  Presbytery;  ordained  in  1798  or  1799.  He  moved 
to  Kentucky  in  1799;  aided  in  forming  the  new  church  in  18 10; 
moved  to  Illinois  in  1828;  and  died  March  30,  1844. 

Finis  Ewing  was  bom  in  Virginia,  in  July,  1773;  was  married 
January  19,  1793,  to  Peggy  Davidson;  was  a  candidate  in  1801, 
receiving  licensure  in  1802;  was  ordained  in  1803.  He  assisted  in 
the  organization  of  the  new  church  in  18 10,  and  helped  to  make 
the  Confession  of  Faith  in  1814;  moved  to  Missouri  in  1820;  died 
in  1841. 

Samuel  King  was  born  in  North  Carolina,  April  19,  1775;  was 
married  to  Ann  Dixon  in  1795;  licensed  in  1802,  and  ordained  in 
1804.  He  aided  in  forming  the  new  church  in  1810;  moved  to 
Missouri  in  1825;  died  in  1842. 

Ephraim  McLean  was  born  June  26,  1768;  married  Elizabeth 
Walton  Byers,  of  Virginia;  was  a  candidate  in  1802;  was  licensed 
in  1803,  and  ordained  by  the  new  Cumberland  Presbytery  in  1810. 
He  died  January  i,  18 13. 

James  Brown  Porter  was  born  February  26,  1779,  in  North  Car- 
olina, and  was  converted  in  1801.  He  became  a  candidate  in  1803; 
was  licensed  in  1804,  and  ordained  in  18 10.  He  was  twice  mar- 
ried.    He  died  in  1854. 

William  McGee  was  bom  in  North  Carolina,  in  1768.  He  was 
licensed  and  ordained  in  North  Carolina  before  1796,  at  which  time 
he  was  sent  West  as  a  missionary.  He  joined  the  Cumberland 
Presbytery  in  October,  18 10,  and  helped  to  form  the  Confession  in 
1814.     He  died  in  1817. 

Robert  Bell  was  bom  December  16,  1770.  He  married  Grizzell 
McCutcheon.  He  was  licensed  in  1804;  was  ordained  in  18 10,  and 
was  sent  as  a  missionary  to  the  Indians  in  1820.  He  died  October 
9th,  1853. 

Thomas  Calhoun  was  born  in  North  Carolina,  May  31,  1782. 
He  became  a  candidate  in  1803,  and  was  married  to  Mary  Johnson 
in  1809.  He  received  licensure  in  July,  1810,  and  was  ordained  in 
181 1.  He  helped  to  make  our  Confession  of  Faith  in  1814.  He 
died  in  1855. 


92  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.        [Period  ii. 

Hugh  Kirkpatrick,  the  date  of  whose  birth  is  not  known,  was 
a  licensed  preacher  at  the  time  the  commission  met  in  1805.  He 
was  ordained  in  1810.     He  died  in  1864. 

David  Foster  was  born  in  North  Carolina,  May  4,  1780;  was 
licensed  in  1805.  He  married  Ann  Beard  in  1806;  was  ordained  in 
1810;  moved  to  Illinois  in  1827.     He  died  in  1833. 

William  Harris  was  bom  in  1772,  and  married  Nancy  High- 
smith  in  1797.  He  was  a  catechist  in  1804,  a  candidate  in  1810, 
licensed  in  1811,  and  ordained  in  1812.  He  published  our  first 
hymn  book  in  1824.     He  died  in  1845. 

William  Barnettwas  born  April  24,  1785;  was  licensed  in  1810, 
and  ordained  in  1813.  He  was  twice  married.  He  died  at  a  camp- 
meeting  in  West  Tennessee  in  1828.' 

Alexander  Chapman  was  born  in  Pennsylvania,  January  2,  1776. 
He  married  Ann  Dixon  Carson  in  1805;  became  a  candidate  in 
1805;  was  licensed  in  1811;  ordained  in  1813.     He  died  in  1834. 

David  Wilson  McLin  was  born  December  24,  1 785.  He  became 
a  candidate  in  1810,  was  licensed  in  181 1,  and  married  Nancy 
Johnson  Porter  in  1812.  He  died  in  his  adopted  home  in  Illinois, 
in  1836. 

Robert  Donnell  was  bom  in  North  Carolina,  in  April,  1784. 
(The  family  records  were  destroyed  by  the  Indians.)  He  was  a 
candidate  in  1806,  was  licensed  in  1811,  and  ordained  in  1813.  He 
helped  to  form  the  Confession  of  Faith  in  18 14.  He  married  Ann 
E.  Smith  in  1817.  His  second  wife  was  Clara  W.  Lindley,  to  whom 
he  was  married  in  1832.     He  died  in  1855. 

The  licentiates  under  the  care  of  the  first  presbytery  were  Philip 
McDonnold,  William  Bumpass,  Samuel  McSpeddin,  and  Samuel 
Donnell.  The  candidates  were  Robert  Guthrie,  John  Bamett, 
John  Camahan,  Elisha  Price,  Green  P.  Rice,  Daniel  Buie,  Robert 
McCorkle,  James  Stewart,  Kzekiel  Cloyd,  Francis  McConnell,  and 
Elijah  Cherry.  A  few  others  conversed  with  the  presbyter}'  about 
their  call  to  the  ministry,  and  were  advised  to  defer  their  decision. 
Most  of  these  came  into  the  ministry  after  the  presbytery  was 
divided,  and  after  a  melancholy  period  of  doubt  and  struggle. 

'  Some  authorities  say  he  was  carried  home  before  he  died. 


Chapter  XL]  ThE  GENERAL  SyNOD.  93 


CHAPTER   XI. 


FIRST  AIMS— NECESSITY  FOR  A  SYNOD— ITS  ORGANI- 
ZATION—SKETCHES OF  ITS  MEMBERS. 

Man  is  higher  than  his  dwelling-place; 

He  looks  up  and  unfolds  the  wings  of  his  soul. 

— Jean  Paul  Richter. 

"Thine  arm  hath  led  us  on, 
A  way  no  more  expected 

Than  when  thy  sheep  passed  through  the  deep, 
By  crystal  walls  protected." 

IT  is  indicated  clearly  all  through  the  records  of  the  first  presby- 
tery that  a  separate  denomination  was  not  at  first  aimed  at,  but 
only  an  independent  presbytery  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  with 
reserved  hopes  that  in  some  unforeseen  manner  the  breach  would 
one  day  be  healed.  These  hopes  were  not  all  given  up  even  when 
a  synod  was  formed,  as  the  preamble  to  the  resolution  establishing 
a  synod  clearly  indicates ;  but  the  failure  of  all  past  efforts  at  recon- 
ciliation, and  the  necessities  of  the  great  work  committed  to  their 
hands,  required  them  to  take  one  more  step. 

The  Cumberland  Presbytery,  at  the  meeting  held  at  Lebanon 
church.  Christian  County,  Kentucky,  November  3,  1812,  put  on 
record  the  fact  that  it  had  been  struggling  for  a  reunion  with  the 
Presbyterian  church,  and  that  it  still  desired  such  reunion.  [See 
Minutes  in  the  'Theological  Medium^  October,  1878,  pp.  494,  495.] 
The  preamble  to  the  resolution  to  form  a  synod  is  as  follows: 

Whereas,  we,  the  Cumberland  Presbytery,  have  made  every  reason- 
able' effort  to  be  reunited  to  the  general  Presbyterian  church;  and, 
whereas,  from  the  extent  of  our  bounds,  the  local  situation  of  our 
members,  their  number,  etc.,  it  is  inconvenient  to  do  business  in  but 
one  presbytery;  and,  whereas,  the  constitution  of  a  synod  would  be 
desirable,  and  we  trust  of  good  consequences,  in  various  respects,  and 
particularly  as  a  tribunal  having  appellate  jurisdiction;  therefore, 
resolved,  etc. 


94  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.        [Period  ii. 

The  Elk  and  Logan  presbyteries  were  formed.  The  Elk  Pres- 
bytery extended  from  the  mouth  of  Duck  River  northward  to  Ten- 
nessee Ridge,  thence  east  to  the  Cumberland  Mountains  in  Mid- 
dle Tennessee.  Its  southern  boundary  was  indefinite,  but  extended 
as  far  as  the  white  settlements,  and  followed  up  the  advancing 
wave  of  these  settlements.  Its  first  members  were  William 
McGee,  Samuel  King,  James  B.  Porter,  Robert  Bell,  and  Robert 
Donnell.  Its  first  meeting  was  at  Mount  Carmel,  and  William 
McGee  preached  the  opening  sermon. 

The  IvOgan  Presbytery  was  bounded  on  the  south  by  the  other 
two  presbyteries,  but  extended  northward  indefinitely.  Ohio,  Illi- 
nois, and  Indiana  Territories  were  in  its  field,  as  were  also  Penn- 
sylvania and  New  York.  Its  members  were  Finis  Ewing,  William 
Harris,  Alexander  Chapman,  and  William  Bamett.  At  the  organ- 
ization the  sermon  was  preached  by  Ewing. 

The  Cumberland  (Nashville)  Presbytery  was  composed  of  the 
following  members:  Thomas  Calhoun,  David  Foster,  D.  W.  McLin, 
Hugh  Kirkpatrick,  William  Bumpass,  Samuel  McSpeddin,  and 
Ezekiel  Cloyd.  The  boimdaries  of  this  presbytery  were  limited 
only  by  the  fields  assigned  to  the  Elk  and  the  Logan.  The  first 
synod  was  organized  on  the  5th  day  of  October,  18 13,  at  the  Beech 
meeting-house,  in  Sumner  County,  Tennessee.  There  were  sixteen 
ordained  ministers  within  its  bounds.  William  McGee  preached 
the  opening  sermon. 

There  is  a  pen  and  ink  sketch  of  the  men  who  composed  this 
synod  at  its  second  meeting,  when  the  Confession  was  adopted.  It 
was  drawn  by  E.  Curry,  who  was  present  at  the  meeting  described: 

The  Rev.  Samuel  King  was  the  moderator,  and  with  modest  step 
advanced  to  the  chair,'  and  with  a  solemnity  and  dignity  of  counte- 
nance peculiar  to  himself,  entered  upon  the  duties  of  his  station.  Upon 
the  right  sat  Finis  Ewing,  with  a  keen  eye,  ready  to  scan  every  thing 
that  came  before  the  synod.  Near  him  sat  Hugh  Kirkpatrick,  with  a 
heavy  brow,  prepared  to  define  hard  words  and  sentences.  On  his 
right  sat  James  B.  Porter,  with  a  pleasing  countenance,  as  though  he 

was  delighted  that  they  were  about  to  smite  off  the  old  shackles 

On  the  left  of  the  moderator  sat  Robert  Donnell,  writing  resolutions  to 


^King  was  only  temporarily  in  the  chair;  he  was  not  moderator  that  session. 
B.  W.  M. 


Chapter  XL]      '  ThE   GENERAL    SyNOD.  95 

offer  to  synod.  Behind  him  was  David  Foster,  with  a  critic's  eye  to 
detect  any  error.  In  this  group  sat  my  favorite,  Thomas  Calhoun,  who 
once  spoke  terror  to  my  heart  and  caused  me  to  cry  aloud  for  mercy. 
Just  in  front  sat  Alexander  Chapman,  with  a  serene  look  and  attentive 
ear,  that  he  might  be  prepared  to  give  a  judicious  vote.  A  little  back 
lay  Samuel  Donnell,  brother  of  Robert  (in  an  advanced  stage  of  con- 
sumption), who  seemed  to  be  a  sort  of  concordance  to  whom  all 
applied  for  scriptural  proofs.  Farther  back  in  the  house  WiUiam 
McGee  was  seen,  tossing  to  and  fro  with  deep  thoughts  and  heavy 
groans,  soon  to  be  vented  in  a  powerful  speech.  A  little  in  front  sat 
William  Bumpass,  a  man  of  ready  wit  and  good  judgment,  who  always 
had  language  to  tell  what  he  knew.  In  a  corner  of  the  aisle  stood 
William  Barnett,  about  to  deliver  one  of  his  thundering  speeches, 
which  made  the  walls  of  the  church  reverberate  with  his  loud,  shrill 
voice.  Several  more  of  the  fathers  of  the  church  took  part  in  the 
deliberations  of  that  synod. 

We  regret  that  Mr.  Curry  did  not  continue  his  picture.  At 
that  meeting  were  William  Harris,  D.  W.  McLin,  Robert  Bell, 
Samuel  McSpeddin,  Ezekiel  Cloyd,  and  Philip  McDonnold.  These 
men  were  "the  fathers"  of  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  church. 

I  often,  in  my  boyhood,  saw  McSpeddin.  He  used  to  preach 
at  my  father's  house  on  his  circuit  in  the  mountains.  "Uncle 
Sam,"  everybody  called  him.  He  was  a  plain,  earnest,  honest, 
good  man,  and  a  great  favorite  with  the  mountain  people.  His 
favorite  theme  was  experimental  religion.  I  once  heard  Dr.  Cos- 
sitt  beg  him  to  leave  his  thoughts  on  that  subject  in  writing  for 
posterity.  "Uncle  Sam"  lived  to  great  age  and  retained  his 
memory  fresh  to  the  last.  It  was  customary  with  all  our  writers  on 
biography  or  history  to  go  to  McSpeddin  for  facts.  Even  his  dates 
were  always  found  to  be  reliable.  Several  times  they  were  ques- 
tioned, but  investigation  proved  them  to  be  right.  His  youngest 
son,  Judge  McSpeddin,  of  Center,  Alabama,  still  lives. 

I  also  knew  William  Harris.  He  presided  in  the  examination 
when  I  was  received  as  a  candidate  for  the  ministry.  Dr.  Beard 
has  given  us  a  beautiful  biographical  sketch  of  Harris;  the  most 
interesting,  I  think,  of  all  his  biographical  sketches.  Harris  has 
sons  and  grandsons  still  living.  One  of  his  grandsons  was  a  little 
child,  two  and  a  half  years  old,  when  Father  Harris  died.  The 
dying  man  had  this  child  brought  to  his  bed,  and  laying  his  hands 


96  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.        [Period  11. 

upon  his  head  poured  forth  a  prayer  of  great  earnestness  for  God's 
blessings  on  the  life  of  the  boy.  That  grandson  is  now  the  senior 
editor  of  the  Cumber-land  Presbyterian. 

Philip  McDonnold  died  before  my  day,  but  as  his  father,  Red- 
mond McDonnold,  was  my  father's  uncle;  and  as  his  mother  and 
younger  brother,  Barnett,  long  survived  him,  I  used  to  hear  his 
wonderful  career  discussed  very  often.  The  family  lived  in  what 
was  then  called  Stoglan's  Valley,  on  the  borders  of  what  was 
then  Wayne  County,  Kentucky.  I  made  many  a  visit  to  their 
home,  and  the  name  of  Philip  was  spoken  with  profoundest  ven- 
eration. By  some  strange  freak  the  orthography  of  his  name  is 
perverted  into  McDaniel,  even  in  the  published  minutes  of  his 
own  presbytery.  The  McDaniels  were  another  family  and  no  kin 
to  the  McDonnolds,  but  a  noble  preacher  rose  up  among  them  at  a 
later  day.  I  know  that  Dr.  Beard  tried  to  collect  material  for  a 
biography  of  Philip  McDonnold,  but  as  he  never  published  the 
biography,  it  may  be  that  he  failed  to  secure  the  necessary  facts. 

McDonnold  was  an  extemporaneous  orator  and  left  no  writ- 
ings at  all.  The  old  people  said  that  when  he  came  from  the 
woods  (which  was  the  closet  of  prayer  in  those  days)  and  went  into 
the  pulpit,  he  v/as  often  as  white  as  a  sheet.  When  he  began  his 
sermon,  pouring  down  torrents  of  orator)-  and  of  fire  upon  them, 
there  was  but  one  way  to  resist,  and  that  was  to  run  as  quick  as 
possible  out  of  hearing.  Wonderful  things  are  related  about  the 
effects  of  his  oratory.  People  said  he  often  made  them  feel  as  if 
the  day  of  judgment  had  already  come.  Many  of  our  old  people, 
David  Lowry  among  the  number,  insisted  that  the  spiritual  power 
of  Philip  McDonnold' s  oratory  was  never  equaled  on  earth.  He 
married  a  daughter  of  General  Robert  Ewing,  who  was  Finis 
Ewing's  oldest  brother,  and  died  in  1815,  at  the  close  of  his 
twenty -first  year.  His  only  son,  Philip  Monroe  McDonnold, 
entered  the  ministry,  receiving  licensure.  He  married,  and  then, 
like  his  father,  died,  leaving  only  one  child.  After  Philip  ^IcDon- 
nold's  tongue  had  been  dust  for  more  than  fifty  years  old  men  still 
wept  when  some  of  his  thrilling  appeals  to  sinners  were  mentioned 
in  their  presence. 

Dr.  Beard's  Biographical  Sketches  give  pen-pictures  of  most 


Rev. Thomas  Calhoun 


Eng4  !jy  J  CHuftrU^.V. 


Rev  Robert  Donne ll 


Rev.  R.D,  Morrow.  D.D. 


Chapter  XI.]  ThE   GENERAL   SyNOD.  97 

of  the  fathers  of  our  church.  There  is  need  of  a  few  additions. 
In  the  sketch  given  by  Mr.  Curry  of  William  McGee  there  is  men- 
tion made  of  his  groaning  and  restlessness.  McGee  had  a  long, 
hard  struggle  about  doctrine.  He  rejected  the  stem  features  of 
the  Westminster  Confession,  but  he  could  not  frame  another  sys- 
tem of  theology  which  left  out  these  objectionable  teachings,  and 
at  the  same  time  avoided  the  opposite  extreme.  He  declined  to 
aid  in  organizing  the  independent  presbytery.  He  refrained  a  long 
time  from  preaching.  Alone  in  the  woods  he  labored  and  prayed 
over  the  system  which  was  to  take  the  place  of  the  one  he  had 
rejected.  A  little  light  dawned  on  him  and  he  went  then  and 
joined  the  independent  presbytery.  Still  it  was  an  unsettled  ques- 
tion what  new  creed  would  be  adopted  under  the  new  conditions. 
This  was  the  pending  question  when  McGee  showed  the  anxiety 
described  by  Mr.  Curry.  He  helped  to  make  the  new  creed  and 
voted  for  it.  It  was  unanimously  adopted.  At  last  McGee' s 
troubled  heart  had  rest. 
7 


98  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.        [Period  11. 


CHAPTER    XII. 


THE  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH— SYNOPSIS  OF  DOC- 
TRINES—FULLER CONFESSION  — A  MEDIUM  SYS- 
TEM—DIAGRAM. 

Not  to  know  at  large  of  things  remote 

From  use,  obscure,  and  subtile;  but  to  know 

That  which  before  us  lies  in  daily  life. 

Is  the  prime  wisdom.     What  is  more  is  fume, 

Emptiness,  or  fond  impertinence; 

And  renders  us,  in  things  that  most  concern, 

Unpracticed,  unprepared,  and  still  to  seek, 

— Milton. 

My  banner — from  my  Master  was  it  to  me  intrusted— 

Before  his  throne  must  I  lay  it  down  at  last. 

I  dare  display  it,  because  I  have  borne  it  faithfully. 

— Schiller. 

THE  Cumberland  Presbytery,  before  the  organization  of  the 
synod,  had  felt  the  need  of  a  more  definite  creed.  Its  candi- 
dates for  the  ministry  all  adopted  the  Westminster  Confession, 
with  exceptions  about  fatality.  This  was  too  vague.  At  the  very 
last  meeting  of  the  presbytery  before  the  organization  of  the 
synod.  Finis  Ewing  and  Robert  Donnell  were  appointed  a  commit- 
tee to  prepare  a  synopsis  of  doctrines.  Their  synopsis  was  reported 
to  the  synod  and  unanimously  adopted.  The  synod  ordered  this 
outline  statement  of  its  doctrines  to  be  published.  It  appeared 
soon  after  in  Buck's  Theological  Dictionary.     It  was  as  follows: 

1.  That  Adam  was  made  upright,  pure,  and  free;  that  he  was 
necessarily  under  the  moral  law,  which  binds  all  intelligences;  and 
having  transgressed  it  he  was,  consequently,  with  all  his  posterity, 
exposed  to  eternal  punishment  and  misery. 

2.  That  Christ,  the  second  Adam,  represented  just  as  many  as  the 
first;  consequently  made  an  atonement  for  all,  "which  will  be  testified 
in  due  time;"  but  that  the  benefit  of  that  atonement  will  be  received 
only  by  the  true  believer. 


Chapter  XII.]  ThE   CONFESSION   OF    FaITH.  99 

3.  That  all  Adam's  family  are  totally  depraved,  conceived  in  sin, 
going  astray  from  the  womb,  and  all  children  of  wrath;  therefore  must 
be  born  again,  justified,  and  sanctified,  or  they  never  can  enter  into 
the  kingdom  of  God. 

4.  That  justification  is  by  faith  alone  as  the  instrument;  by  the 
merits  of  Christ's  active  and  passive  obedience,  as  the  meritorious 
cause;  and  by  the  operation  of  God's  Spirit  as  the  efficient  or  active 
cause. 

5.  That  as  the  sinner  is  justified  on  the  account  of  Christ's  right- 
eousness being  imputed  to  him,  on  the  same  account  he  will  be  enabled 
to  go  on  from  one  degree  of  grace  to  another,  in  a  progressive  life  of 
sanctification,  until  he  is  fit  to  be  gathered  to  the  garner  of  God,  who 
will  certainly  take  to  glory  every  man  who  is  really  justified;  that  is, 
he,  Christ,  has  become  wisdom  (light  to  convince),  righteousness  (to 
justify),  sanctification  (to  cleanse),  and  redemption  (to  glorify)  to 
every  truly  regenerated  soul. 

The  sixth  item  asserts  the  traditional  doctrine  of  the  Trinity. 
Then  the  synopsis  states  its  dissent  from  the  Westminster  Confes- 
sion as  follows: 

I.  That  there  are  no  eternal  reprobates.  2.  That  Christ  died  not 
for  a  part  only,  but  for  all  mankind.  3.  That  all  infants  dying  in 
infancy  are  saved  through  Christ  and  the  sanctification  of  the  Spirit. 
4.  That  the  operations  of  the  Holy  Spirit  are  co-extensive  with  the 
atonement;  that  is,  on  the  whole  world,  in  such  a  manner  as  to  leave 
all  without  excuse. 

After  stating  this  dissent,  our  fathers  then  add : 

As  to  the  doctrines  of  election  and  reprobation,  they  think  (with 
many  eminent  and  modest  divines  who  have  written  on  the  subject) 
they  are  mysterious.  They  are  not  well  pleased  with  the  application 
that  rigid  Calvinlsts,  or  Arminians,  make  of  them.  They  think  the 
truth  of  that,  as  well  as  many  other  points  in  divinity,  lies  between  the 
opposite  extremes.  They  are  confident,  however,  that  those  doctrines 
should  not,  on  the  one  hand,  be  so  construed  as  to  make  any  thing  the 
creature  has  done,  or  can  do,  at  all  meritorious  in  his  salvation;  or  to 
lay  any  ground  to  say,  "Well  done,  I;"  or  to  take  the  least  degree  of 
the  honor  of  our  justification  and  perseverance  from  God's  unmerited 
grace  and  Christ's  pure  righteousness.  On  the  other  hand,  they  are 
equally  confident  that  those  doctrines  shou^  not  be  so  construed  as  to 
make  God  the  author  of  sin,  directly  or  indirectly,  ....  or  to  contra- 
dict the  sincerity  of  God's  expostulation  with  sinners,  and  make  his 


loo  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.        [Period  ii. 

oath  to  have  no  meaning,  when  he  swears  he  has  no  pleasure  in  their 
death;  or  to  resolve  the  whole  character  of  the  Deity  into  his  sover- 
eignty without  a  clue  regard  to  all  his  other  adorable  attributes.' 

On  this  platform  of  doctrine  they  (the  fathers  of  our  church) 
dared  spread  their  banner  to  the  breeze;  and  we,  their  sons, 
hope,  through  God's  grace,  to  keep  it  flying  till  the  grand  mission 
of  the  everlasting  gospel  is  accomplished.  This  platfonn  came 
not  from  human  schools.  It  owes  no  debt  to  ancient  or  modern 
philosophy.  In  the  great  revival  men  who  studied  their  English 
Bibles  while  laboring  for  the  salvation  of  souls,  rejected  the  medi- 
eval fatalism  in  that  system  to  which  their  church  adhered,  and, 
without  being  scholastic  enough  to  attempt  a  theodicy,  they  con- 
fined their  creed  to  the  plain  middle  of  the  track  of  revealed  truth. 

A  cold  scholastic  logic  applied  to  theology  always  terminates  in 
one  or  the  other  of  two  extremes.  Grace  and  freedom  are  Jacob 
and  Esau  struggling  in  the  womb  together.  Logic  destroys  one 
or  the  other  and  ends  the  struggle.  Practical  pulpit  theology  lets 
both  live,  and  lets  the  struggle  go  on,  nor  makes  any  effort  at 
reconciling  things  which,  though  both  clearly  revealed,  are,  in 
appearance,  irreconcilable.  We  have  far  more  confidence  in  a  S}-s- 
tem  of  theology  growing  out  of  a  revival,  than  in  a  system  made 
by  scholastics  writing  in  the  midst  of  their  books  and  aiming  at 
logical  consistency. 

The  synod  appointed  a  committee,  consisting  of  William 
McGee,  Finis  Ewing,  Thomas  Calhoun,  and  Robert  Donnell,  to 
prepare  a  fuller  creed.  This  committee  worked  first  in  two  sec- 
tions. They  simply  read  over  the  Westminster  Confession,  item 
by  item,  changing  such  expressions  as  did  not  suit  them.  Then 
the  two  sections  met  and  all  went  through  the  same  process.  By 
order  of  the  synod,  all  the  churches  were  observing  a  day  of  fast- 
ing and  prayer  for  divine  guidance  to  be  given  to  the  committee. 
Thomas  Calhoun  gave  the  writer  a  history  of  their  meetings. 
They  prayed  much  and  had  a  clear  assurance  that  divine  direction 
had  been  granted. 

I  have  Robert  Donnel^'s  memoranda  of  the  action  of  the  synod 

Smith,  p.  646,  et  sea 


Chapter  XII.] 


The  Confession  of  Faith. 


lOl 


of  1814  on  the  proposed  creed.  Though  there  were  some  amend- 
ments made  by  the  synod,  yet  it  is  recorded  by  Donnell  that  the 
vote  on  every  item  was  unanimous.  What  the  proposed  creed  was 
before  the  synod's  amendments  we  have  no  means  now  of  know- 
ing. Donnell' s  memoranda  state  the  action  in  words  like  these: 
"Motion  to  strike  out  second  clause  carried  unanimously." 

The  following  exhibit  of  the  principal  changes  made  in  the 
Westminster  Confession,  which  I  cut  from  an  article  published  by 
Dr.  C.  H.  Bell,  will  place  the  doctrinal  status  of  our  church  before 
the  reader: 


Confession  of  Faith  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church 
(O.  S.). 

CHAPTER    III. 

Of  God's  Eternal  Decrees. 
God  from  all  eternity  did  by  the 
most  wise  and  holy  counsel  of  his 
own  will,  freely  and  unchangeably 
ordain  whatsoever  comes  to  pass; 
yet  so  as  thereby  neither  is  God 
the  author  of  sin,  nor  is  violence 
offered  to  the  will  of  the  creatures, 
nor  is  liberty  or  contingency  of 
second  causes  taken  away,  but 
rather  established. 


3.  By  the  decree  of  God  for  the 
manifestation  of  his  glory  some 
men  and  angels  are  predestinated 
unto  everlasting  life,  and  others 
foreordained  to  everlasting  death. 

4.  These  angels  and  men  thus 
predestinated  and  foreordained  are 
particularly  and  unchangeably  de- 
signed; and  their  number  is  so 
certain  and  definite  that  it  can  not 
be  either  increased  or  diminished. 


Confession  of  Faith  of  the 
Cumberland  Presbyterian 
Church.     (18 14.) 

CHAPTER    III. 

Of  GocTs  Eternal  Decrees. 

God  did  by  the  most  wise  and 
holy  counsel  of  his  own  will,  de- 
termine to  bring  to  pass  what 
should  be  for  his  own  glory. 

2.  God  has  not  decreed  any 
thing  respecting  his  creature,  man, 
contrary  to  his  revealed  will  or 
written  word;  which  declares  his 
sovereignty  over  all  his  creatures, 
the  ample  provision  he  has  made 
for  their  salvation;  his  determina- 
tion to  punish  the  finally  impeni- 
tent with  everlasting  destruction, 
and  to  save  the  true  believer  with 
an  everlasting  salvation. 

Section  3  omitted  in  Cumber- 
land Presbyterian  Confession. 


Omitted. 


I02 


Cumberland  Presjjyterian  History.        [Period  ii. 


6.  As  God  hath  appointed  the 
elect  unto  glory,  so  hath  he,  by  the 
eternal  and  most  free  purpose  of 
his  will,  foreordained  all  the  means 
thereunto.  Wherefore  they  who 
are  elected  being  fallen  in  Adam 
are  redeemed  by  Christ,  are  effect- 
ually called  unto  faith  in  Christ  by 
his  spirit  working  in  due  season; 
and  justified,  adopted,  sanctified, 
and  kept  by  his  power  through 
faith  unto  salvation.  Neither  are 
any  other  redeemed  by  Christ  ef- 
fectually called,  justified,  adopted, 
sanctified,  and  saved,  but  the  elect 
only. 

7.  The  rest  of  mankind  God  was 
pleased,  according  to  the  unsearch- 
able counsel  of  his  own  will, 
whereby  he  extendeth  or  with- 
holdeth  mercy  as  he  pleaseth,  for 
the  glory  of  his  sovereign  power 
over  his  creatures,  to  pass  by,  and 
to  ordain  them  to  dishonor  and 
wrath  for  their  sin,  to  the  praise  of 
his  glorious  justice. 

CHAPTER    VIII. 

Christ  the  Mediator. 

8.  To  all  those  for  whom  Christ 
hath  purchased  redemption,  he 
doth  certainly  and  effectually  ap- 
ply and  communicate  the  same, 
making  intercession  for  them,  and 
revealing  unto  them,  in  and  by  the 
word,  the  mysteries  of  salvation; 
effectually  persuading  them  by  his 
spirit  to  believe  and  obey.  .  .  . 

CHAPTER    X. 

Effectual  Calling. 

All  those  whom  God  hath  pre- 
destinated unto  life,  and  those  only, 
he   is    pleased    in    his    appointed 


Omitted. 


Omitted. 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

Christ  the  Mediator. 
8.  Jesus  Christ,  by  the  grace  of 
God,  has  tasted  death  for  every 
man,  and  now  makes  intercession 
for  transgressors;  by  virtue  of 
which,  the  Holy  Spirit  is  given  to 
convince  of  sin,  and  enable  the 
creature  to  believe  and  obey.  .  .  . 


CHAPTER  X. 

Effectual  Calling: 
All  those  whom  God  calls,  and 
who  obey  the  call,  and  those  only, 
he   is    pleased    by    his    word    and 


Chapter  XII.J 


The  Confession  of  Faith. 


103 


and  accepted  lime  effectually  to 
call,  bj'  his  word  and  Spirit,  out  of 
that  state  of  sin  and  death  in  which 
they  are  by  nature,  to  grace  and 
salvation  by  Jesus  Christ.  .  .  . 

3.  Elect  infants  dying  in  infancy 
are  regenerated  and  saved  by 
Christ,  through  the  Spirit,  who 
worketh  when,  and  where,  and 
how  he  pleaseth.  So  also  are  all 
other  elect  persons  who  are  in- 
capable of  being  outwardly  called 
by  the  ministry  of  the  woi'd. 

4.  Others,  not  elected,  although 
they  may  be  called  by  the  ministry 
of  the  word,  and  may  have  some 
common  operations  of  the  Spirit, 
yet  they  never  truly  come  to  Christ, 
and  therefore  can  not  be  saved,  .  .  . 

CHAPTER    XVII. 

Of  the  Perseverance  of  the  Saints. 

They  whom  God  hath  accepted 
in  his  Beloved,  effectually  called 
and  sanctified  by  his  Spirit,  can 
neither  totally  nor  finally  fall  away 
from  the  state  of  grace;  but  shall 
certainly  persevere  therein  to  the 
end,  and  be  eternally  saved. 

2.  This  perseverance  of  the 
saints  depends,  not  upon  their 
own  free  will,  but  upon  the  im- 
mutability of  the  decree  of  elec- 
tion, flowing  from  the  free  and 
unchangeable  love  of  God  the 
Father;  upon  the  efficacy  of  the 
merit  and  intercession  of  Jesus 
Christ;  the  abiding  of  the  Spirit 
and  of  the  seed  of  God  within 
them;  and  the  nature  of  the  cov- 
enant of  grace;  from  all  which 
ariseth  also  the  certainty  and  in- 
fallibility thereof. 


Spirit  to  bring  out  of  that  state  of 
sin  and  death  in  which  they  are  by 
nature,  to  grace  and  salvation  by 
Jesus  Christ.  .  .  . 

3.  All  infants  dying  in  infancy 
are  regenerated  and  saved  by 
Christ  through  the  Spirit,  who 
worketh  when,  and  where,  and 
how  he  pleaseth;  so,  also,  are  others 
who  have  never  had  the  exercise 
of  reason,  and  who  are  incapable 
of  being  outwardly  called  by  the 
ministry  of  the  word. 

Omitted. 


CHAPTER    XVII. 

Of  the  Perseverance  of  the  Saints. 

They  whom  God  hath  justified 
and  sanctified  he  will  also  glorify; 
consequently  the  truly  regenerated 
soul  will  never  totally  nor  finally 
fall  away  from  the  state  of  grace, 
but  shall  certainly  persevere  there- 
in to  the  end,  and  be  eternally  saved. 

2.  This  perseverance  depends  on 
the  unchangeable  love  and  power 
of  God;  the  merits,  advocacy,  and 
intercession  of  Jesus  Christ;  the 
abiding  of  the  Spirit  and  seed  of 
God  within  them;  and  the  nature 
of  the  covenant  of  grace;  from  all 
which  ariseth  also  the  certainty 
and  infallibility  thereof. 


104  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.        [Period  ii. 

The  great  majority  of  the  chapters  in  the  Westminster  Confes- 
sioil  were  placed  in  the  new  creed  without  any  change  at  all,  the 
changes  here  indicated  being  the  only  vital  ones  made.  The  Cat- 
echism was  also  changed  in  the  matter  of  decrees  to  correspond 
with  the  views  set  forth  in  the  new  Confession.  The  chapters  on 
faith,  repentance,  depravity,  and  imputation,  in  the  new  book,  are 
the  same  substantially  as  in  the  old.  The  new  Confession  clearly 
enunciates  the  truth  that  "God  so  loved  the  world  that  he  gave 
his  only  begotten  Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  in  him  should 
not  perish,  but  have  everlasting  life;"  and  that  "the  manifestation 
of  the  Spirit  is  given  to  every  man  to  profit  withal."  Through 
Christ's  atoning  grace,  and  by  the  Spirit's  aid,  man  can  be  saved. 
What  need  have  we  of  more  metaphysics  in  our  creed? 

Besides  these  principal  changes,  the  Confession  of  Faith  of  1814 
made  some  additions  to  the  deliverances  of  the  Westminster  stand- 
ards on  the  subject  of  sanctification,  and  about  the  gift  or  baptism 
of  the  Holy  Spirit.  On  the  former,  our  fathers,  after  giving  all 
the  thirteenth  chapter  of  the  old  book,  just  as  it  stands,  added  the 
following  words:  "Although  the  remains  of  depravity  may  con- 
tinue to  affect  the  true  believer  in  this  life,  yet  it  is  his  duty  and 
privilege,  through  grace,  to  maintain  a  conscience  void  ot  offense 
toward  God  and  toward  men. ' ' 

Finis  Ewing  tells  us,  in  substance,  that  the  compilers  ot  our 
Confession  of  Faith  aimed  at  medium  groimd  on  the  sanctification 
question.  He  was  one  of  those  compilers.  They  did  not  believe 
that  sanctification  is  all  finished  until  the  soul  leaves  the  body; 
neither  did  they  believe  that  a  life  of  sin  is  compatible  with  that 
Christianity  which  has  received  the  baptism  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 
They  believed  that  a  Christian  could  and  should  maintain  a  con- 
science void  of  offense,  and  so  live  free  from  condemnation. 

While  they  retained  as  true  the  phrases  about  the  remains  of 
depravity  continuing  to  affect  the  believer  as  long  as  he  remains  in 
the  body,  yet  they  feared  these  expressions  might  be  abused  so  as 
to  "make  provisions  for  the  flesh,"  and  they  sought  to  guard 
against  this  abuse  by  two  very  strong  declarations.  [Chap,  xiii., 
sec,  4,  and  chap,  xvii.,  sec.  3.] 

It  has  been  shown  in  a  previous  chapter  that  our  fathers  believed 


Chapter  XII.]  ThE  CONFESSION  OF  FaITH.  105 

in  an  abiding  baptism  of  the  Holy  Ghost  as  a  distinct  blessing  after 
conversion.  They  changed  the  wording  of  the  seventeenth  chapter 
so  as  to  give  emphasis  to  this  belief 

The  Westminster  Confession  reads  (chap,  xvii.,  sec.  3): 

Nevertheless,  they  [Christians]  may,  through  the  temptations  of 
Satan  and  of  the  world,  the  prevalency  of  corruption  remaining  in 
them,  and  the  neglect  of  the  means  of  their  preservation,  fall  into 
grievous  sins,  and  for  a  time  continue  therein:  whereby  they  incur 
God's  displeasure,  and  grieve  his  Holy  Spirit;  come  to  be  deprived 
of  some  measure  of  their  graces  and  comforts;  have  their  hearts  hard- 
ened, and  their  consciences  wounded;  hurt  and  scandalize  others,  and 
bring  temporal  judgments  upon  themselves. 

The  book  adopted  by  our  fathers  reads  (chap,  xvii.,  sec.  3): 

Although  there  are  examples  in  the  Old  Testament  of  good  men 
having  egregiously  sinned,  and  some  of  them  continuing  for  a  time 
therein,  yet  now,  since  life  and  immortality  are  brought  clearer  to  light 
in  the  gospel,  and  especially  since  the  effusion  of  the  Holy  Ghost  on  the 
day  of  Pentecost,  we  may  not  expect  the  true  Christian  to  fall  into  such 
gross  sins.  Nevertheless,  they  may,  through  the  temptations  of  Satan, 
the  world  and  the  flesh,  the  neglect  of  the  means  of  grace,  fall  into 
sin,  and  incur  God's  displeasure,  and  grieve  his  Holy  Spirit;  come  to  be 
deprived  of  some  measure  of  their  graces  and  comforts,  and  have  their 
consciences  wounded;  but  the  real  Christian  can  never  rest  satisfied 
therein. 

If  the  quotations  from  McAdow's  sermons,  in  the  chapter  on  the 
Paraclete,  are  compared  with  this  change  in  the  Confession,  the 
reasons  for  the  change  will  be  understood.  Of  all  the  doctrines 
held  by  our  fathers,  the  one  about  this  abiding  baptism  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  was  most  esteemed  by  them.  Gradually  it  was  allowed  to 
be  crowded  into  the  background,  after  our  fathers  went  to  their 
rest.  In  nearly  all  our  early  judicatures  of  this  period,  strong  res- 
olutions are  placed  on  record  about  the  necessity  of  a  godly  life. 
It  is  constantly  affirmed  by  all  our  early  writers  that  all  Christians 
should  live  in  abiding  communion  with  God.  A  state  of  full  assur- 
ance was  insisted  on  in  every  protracted  meeting  which  these  men 
held. 

But  enough  of  this  digression.  The  Confession,  studied  as  a 
whole,  interpreting  the  scraps  and  phrases  by  the  general  tenor  of 


io6  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.        [Period  ii. 

the  book,  and  not  interpreting  the  whole  tenor  of  the  book  by 
these  phrases,  teaches  "the  medium  system" — a  medium  between 
the  old  time  Calvinism  and  Arminianism. 

It  has  been  so  often  denied  that  there  can  be  any  medium 
ground  between  Calvinism  and  Arminianism,  that  a  few  words  on 
that  subject  seem  necessary.  The  assertion  of  impossibility  is  a 
father's  hat  on  a  boy's  head.  Originally  it  was,  "There  is  no 
medium  ground  between  fatality  and  freedom."  If  there  can  not 
be  a  free  volition  with  no  antecedent  cause  outside  of  the  fact  that 
there  was  a  free  actor,  then  fatality  follows  inevitably.  The  impos- 
sibility, if  it  exists,  applies  to  God's  volitions  as  well  as  man's. 
The  claim  to  medium  ground  was  not  to  a  medium  between  fatality 
and  freedom,  but  a  medium  between  the  Calvinism  of  that  day  and 
Arminianism. 

An  attempt  is  here  made  to  exhibit  the  representative  creeds 
of  Christendom,  graded  according  to  the  amount  of  Calvinism  or 
Arminianism  which  they  contain.  You  begin  to  read  the  diagram 
in  the  middle.  Each  step  upward  is  supposed  to  contain  one  shade 
more  of  Calvinism,  till  it  passes  Calvinism  into  atheistic  fatality. 
Each  step  downward  is  supposed  to  be  a  step  further  away  from 
Calvinism.  Up  and  down  refer  only  to  the  page,  and  not  to  any 
superiority  in  the  creeds.  From  this  diagram,  if  it  be  a  true 
exhibit,  the  justness  of  the  claim  to  a  medium  position,  which 
the  Cumberland  Presbyterians  set  up,  will  be  clearly  seen.  The 
place  assigned  some  of  the  creeds  was  determined  by  averaging, 
some  of  their  doctrines  belonging  to  a  higher  grade  and  some  to  a 
lower  than  the  one  assigned.  The  fact  that  the  New  School  Pres- 
byterians and  the  United  Presbyterian  Church  of  Scotland  both 
adopt  the  Westminster  standards  modifies  their  grading.  Private 
and  individual  systems  give  other  shades  not  here  noticed.  The 
pulpit  theology  of  the  New  School  Presbyterians  was  often  far 
more  Arminian  than  the  system  held  by  Cumberland  Presb}teri- 
ans;  so,  too,  is  the  theology  of  many  a  modem  Congregationalist. 
A  large  part  of  the  Baptist  churches  hold  about  the  same  amount 
of  Calvinism  that  the  Cumberland  Presbyterians  do.  While  many 
reference  books  have  been  examined,  Schaff  and  Hagenbach  have 
been  relied  on  more  than  others. 


s 
3 


Chapter  XII.J  ThE  CONFESSION  OF  FaITH.  IO7 

DIAGRAM   OF  REPRESENTATIVE  CREEDS. 

9.  Atheistic  fatality. 
8.  Theistic  fatality.     God  under  fate. 
7.  Two-seed  Baptists.     Antinomians. 
6.  Supralapsarian  Calvinists.     Dort 

5.  Infralapsarian  Calvinists.      American  Old  School  Presbyte- 
rians. 
4.  New  School  Presbyterians. 
3.  The  Savoy  Declaration,  1658. 
2.  The  United  Presbyterians.     Declaration  of  1879. 
I.  The  Baxter ians. 
English  Congregationalists,  1833, 
Evangelical  Free  Church  of  Geneva, 
Cumberland  Presbyterians, 
Reformed  Episcopal  church, 
Free  Italian  church, 

1.  Lutherans. 

2.  Freewill  Baptists. 

3.  Evangelical  Union  of  Scotland. 

4.  Methodists. 

5.  Quakers,  "orthodox,"  not  "Hicksite.'' 

6.  Campbellites. 

7.  Pelagians. 

8.  Socinians. 

9.  Atheistic  freedom.     No  divine  influence. 

The  range  of  our  easy  and  hearty  fellowship  in  work  for  the 
Master's  kingdom  takes  in  all  the  grades  from  five  above  to  five 
below,  and  sometimes  stretches  over  the  sixth  above  and  below. 
The  sixth  below  has  two  wholly  different  elements  among  its 
membership,  one  class  believing  in  experimental  religion,  the 
presence  and  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  in  revivals.  With 
them  our  people  can  co-operate  in  Christian  work.  The  other 
class  we  can  not  work  with,  and  might  do  them  injustice  if  we 
tried  to  give  their  views.  There  are  individual  exceptions  also  in 
the  grades  which  we  fellowship.  Men  of  any  grade  who  oppose 
revivals  can  not  work  well  with  us,  nor  we  with  them. 


io8  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.        [Period  ii. 

As  to  communing  at  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  we 
put  no  barrier  in  the  way,  but  refer  the  question  to  men's  own 
consciences.  I  have  seen  Unitarians  communing  with  our  people. 
It  is  not  our  custom  to  require  any  test — church  membership,  bap- 
tism, or  any  thing  of  the  sort.  If  a  man  believes  that  he  is  a  Chris- 
tian and  his  own  conscience  is  clear  in  coming  to  the  Lord's  table, 
we  invite  him  to  come.  This  has  always  been  our  custom,  and  is 
the  obvious  meaning  of  our  standards.  There  have  been  a  few 
dissenting  voices  to  this  interpretation  of  the  standards.  These 
insist  on  church  membership,  in  some  orthodox  church,  as  essen- 
tial.    Baptism  is,  according  to  them,  prerequisite  to  communion. 

One  thing  can  be  clearly  proved  as  a  historical  fact,  and  that  is 
that  slowly  but  surely  the  doctrinal  views  of  the  Presbyterian 
church,  so  far  as  the  pulpit  can  be  taken  as  their  exponent,  have 
been  drawing  nearer  and  nearer,  ever  since  1814,  to  this  medium 
platform. 


Chapter  XIII.]  ThE   ThREE    PrESBYTERIES.  109 


CHAPTER   XIII. 


THE  THREE   PRESBYTERIES  — OLD  CUSTOMS   NOW 

DROPPED. 

Thou  shalt  remember  all  the  way  which  the  Lord  thy  God  led  thee. — Detit.  viii.  3. 

FROM  the  organization  of  the  synod,  in  1813,  until  the  organ- 
ization of  McGee  Presbytery,  in  1819,  there  were  just  three 
presbyteries.  These  had  the  whole  world  for  their  field.  It  may  be 
interesting  to  mention  several  customs  which  prevailed  among  them 
then,  and  which  have  long  since  passed  away.  The  old  custom 
among  all  Presbyterians  of  requiring  tokens  from  communicants 
was  kept  up  a  little  while  by  our  people,  but,  without  any  ecclesi- 
astical repudiation,  was  gradually  dropped.  James  B.  Porter  made 
the  first  vigorous  denunciation  of  the  system.  He  had  seen 
Colonel  Joe  Brown  driven  by  it  out  of  the  Presbyterian  church, 
and  he  ever  afterward  refused  to  use  tokens.  The  token  was  a 
little  piece  of  metal  like  a  trunk  check,  given  by  the  session  to  a 
church  member  on  communion  day.  It  was  his  pass  to  the  Lord's 
table  when  the  sacrament  was  administered.  The  communicants 
took  their  seats  at  a  longttable.  They  always  used  real  tables  in 
those  days.  Then  one  man,  appointed  for  the  purpose,  went  round 
the  table  to  see  that  all  seated  there  had  tokens.  If  any  one  there 
seated  had  no  token  he  was  pointed  out  to  those  who  distributed 
the  bread  and  wine,  and  they  skipped  him  in  their  distribution. 
For  many  years  the  mother  church  withheld  tokens  from  those  of 
its  members  who  had  communed  with  "  the  Cumberlands, "  as  they 
insisted  on  calling  the  members  of  the  new  church. 

Colonel  Joe  Brown  gave  me,  with  his  own  lips,  the  history  of 
his  case.  He  had  communed  with  the  Cumberland  Presbyterians, 
and  his  pastor  ordered  the  session  to  refuse  him  a  token.  His  sym- 
pathies were  already  with  the  new  church  both  on  account  of  its 
revivals   and  its   doctrines.     When  the  token  was  withheld,   by 


no  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.        [Period  ii. 

Gideon  Blackburn's  order,  Colonel  Brown  then  and  there  rose  in 
the  great  congregation  and  told  them  that  the  Cumberland  Presby- 
terians were  God's  people;  that  the  attempt  to  bring  them  under 
the  oditan  thcologicum  would  recoil  on  its  authors;  and  that  he,  for 
one,  intended  to  cast  his  lot  in  with  the  church  under  whose  minis- 
try his  children  had  been  led  to  Jesus.  While  Mrs.  Frances  B. 
Fogg's  little  biography  of  this  hero  of  Nickajack  is  interesting,  it 
fails  utterly  to  give  the  thrilling  story  of  his  life  after  his  release 
from  Indian  captivity.  I  myself  once  took  down  from  Colonel 
Brown's  own  lips  full  memoranda  of  his  whole  life,  but  the  memo- 
randa were  destroyed  with  most  of  my  library  during  the  war.  It 
is  hoped  that  some  of  Colonel  Brown's  family  will  yet  preser\'e  to 
the  church  and  the  world  a  full  account  of  his  wonderful  career. 

What  was  called  ' '  fencing ' '  the  table  in  the  days  of  our  fathers 
included  this  business  of  the  tokens,  and  also  the  code  of  rules  by 
which  the  token  was  either  given  or  withheld.  The  preacher  who 
publicly  announced  these  rules,  and  presided  in  their  application, 
was  said  to  "fence  the  table."  "A  fence  for  communion,"  "a 
good  fence  for  the  Lord's  table,"  was  often  published  in  church 
papers — that  is,  a  code  of  rules  which  ought  to  be  applied  in  dis- 
tributing tokens.  I  have  heard  old  people  regret  the  laxness  of 
discipline  which  took  down  the  fence  from  the  Lord's  table. 
Whether  this  removal  was  censurable  or  praiseworthy,  our  own 
church  was  a  prominent  actor  in  its  accomplishment. 

All  three  of  the  presbyteries  had  a  custom  which  lingered  a 
dozen  years,  and  whose  origin  is  hard  to  trace.  A  presbytery'  was 
composed  of  preachers,  elders,  and  representatives.  As  in  synod, 
so  also  in  presbytery,  every  preacher  was  expected  to  have  his  own 
elder.  Then  the  churches  also  were  expected  to  send  representa- 
tives to  presbytery,  but  as  the  distance  was  in  some  cases  five  hun- 
dred miles,  it  was  the  custom  of  the  remote  churches  to  club 
together  and  send  one  representative  for  several  congregations. 
There  were  instances  where  one  man  represented  six  congregations, 
so  that  there  was  no  superabundance  of  elders  even  when  both 
classes,  the  preachers'  elders  and  the  churches',  were  counted.  In 
the  synod  the  churches  had  no  representatives.  The  preachers  and 
their  elders  made  the  synod;  but  the  preachers'  elders  were  ap- 


Chapter  XIII.]  ThE   ThREE   PRESBYTERIES.  Ill 

pointed  by  the  cliurcli  sessions  in  obedience  to  a  requisition  made 
annually  by  the  presbytery.  For  example:  the  Elk  Presbyter)^,  at 
its  spring'  session,  would  designate  what  congregation  should  send 
an  elder  with  Robert  Donnell,  and  the  session  of  that  church  was 
held  responsible  for  the  presence  of  said  elder  in  the  synod.  The 
utmost  rigor  was  used  at  first  to  enforce  this  arrangement.  The 
elder  appointed  and  failing  to  go,  unless  for  good  reasons,  was  to 
have  charges  preferred  against  him.  Such  was  the  rule  in  all  the 
presbyteries. 

All  three  of  the  presbyteries  had  vast  fields  to  cultivate,  and 
those  fields  were  continually  expanding.  The  Nashville  Presby- 
tery, a  few  years  after  it  began  its  separate  presbyterial  existence, 
found  the  whole  western  end  of  Tennessee  opened  by  the  purchase 
of  the  country  from  the  Indians.  But  this  expansion  of  that  pres- 
bytery was  a  little  thing  compared  with  the  vast  fields  thrown  open 
on  the  frontiers  of  Logan  and  Elk  presbyteries.  In  the  case  of  the 
latter,  soon  after  its  organization,  South  Alabama  was  opened  to 
American  settlers,  then  Arkansas,  then  North-western  Alabama, 
then  Missouri.  At  one  session  of  this  presbytery  petitions  for 
preachers  were  received  from  five  hundred  pioneers  in  the  new 
settlements  of  Alabama  alone,  and  also  from  vast  numbers  in  Ar- 
kansas and  Missouri.  Both  Logan  and  Elk  presbyteries  tried  to 
evangelize  Missouri.  In  the  wide  bounds  of  Logan  Presbytery 
Illinois,  Indiana,  and  Ohio  were  opened  to  white  settlements,  and 
the  earnest  petitions  of  emigrants  begging  for  the  gospel  were  part 
of  the  stirring  business  coming  up  at  every  session. 

In  all  three  of  the  presbyteries  fast-days  were  repeatedly  ap- 
pointed, and  all  the  churches  were  urged  to  pray  for  more  laborers 
to  be  sent  into  the  'harvest.  After  these  fast-days  the  presbyteries 
invariably  received  large  accessions  to  their  number  of  candidates. 
Yet  the  growth  of  the  new  settlements  and  the  demands  for  the 
gospel  kept  far  ahead  of  this  increase  in  the  supply  of  ministers. 
It  was  folly  to  talk  about  settling  down  into  pastorates  under  these 
circumstances.  Men  were  called  pastors,  and  they  will  be  so  desig- 
nated in  these  pages.  The  name  existed,  but  the  reality  had  no 
place  in  all  the  church  till  near  the  close  of  the  second  period  in 
this  history.     Thomas  Calhoun  is  called  pastor  in  the  next  chapter, 


112  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.        [Period  ii. 

but  he  made  frequent  tours  of  evangelism  which  required  six 
months  each.  He  attended  camp-meetings  for  two  or  three  months 
every  year,  and  he  cultivated  a  large  farm. 

The  plan  which  all  the  presbyteries  fell  upon  was  threefold. 
All  the  vast  fields  under  their  care  were  districted,  and  itinerants 
sent  to  each  district.  These  itinerants  established  circuits  of 
preaching  places,  and  made  appointments  for  preaching  ever}'  day 
in  the  week.  This  was  generally  missionary  work,  outside  of  all 
organized  congregations.  If  the  missionary  could  collect  enough 
members  to  organize  a  church,  he  took  their  names,  pledging  them 
to  form  a  church  as  soon  as  an  ordained  preacher  could  be  had  to 
organize  them.  The  missionar}'  was  not  usually  an  ordained  min- 
ister.    This  was  the  first  branch  of  the  system. 

The  second  branch  pertained  to  organized  congregations.  In 
these  the  presbyter^'  appointed  sacramental  meetings  semi-annu- 
ally, and  designated  the  preachers  who  were  to  officiate.  The  fall 
meetings  were  camp-meetings,  as  well  as  sacramental,  and  every 
ordained  preacher,  no  matter  what  his  pastoral  relations  might  be, 
was  required  to  attend  these  camp-meetings  during  the  fall  months, 
and  was  also  required  to  perform  his  part  of  that  other  work  on  the 
circuits  which  unordained  men  could  not  do.  The  presbyter}^,  at 
every  session,  designated  what  portion  of  these  duties  fell  to  the  lot 
of  each  ordained  minister,  and  each  was  held  to  rigid  account  for 
his  fidelity  in  the  work  assigned  him. 

The  third  branch  of  the  system  consisted  of  such  features  of 
regular  pastorates  as  could  be  made  consistent  with  the  two  preced- 
ing branches.  In  the  orders  of  these  presbyteries  I  find  it  no 
uncommon  thing  for  a  so-called  pastor  of  this  period  to  be  required, 
in  the  course  of  a  year,  to  attend  as  many  as  a  dozen  sacramental 
meetings,  distant  from  fifty  to  three  hundred  miles  from  his  home; 
and  when  called  on  to  report  at  the  next  meeting  of  the  presbyter}', 
it  was  a  rare  thing  for  any  one  to  report  a  failure.  When  failure 
was  reported,  the  reasons  were  investigated. 

The  chief  question  at  every  meeting  of  these  presbyteries  was 
about  the  supply  of  itinerants  And  their  support.  These  itinerants 
were  always  called  missionaries  by  the  Logan  Presbyter}^  but  they 
were  frequently  called  circuit  riders  in  the  other  presbyteries. 


Chapter  XIII.]  ThE   ThREE   PRESBYTERIES.  II3 

Nashville  Presbytery  consumed  one  whole  session  in  1815  in 
discussing  plans  for  the  support  of  itinerants.  The  Elk  Presby- 
tery came  with  shorter  steps  to  decided  measures.  It  required 
every  member  of  the  church  to  pay  one  dollar  to  the  itinerant  fund. ' 
This  action  was  taken  in  1816,  and  for  three  years  produced  good 
results.  Afterward  we  find  R.  D.  King  and  others  traveling  under 
order  of  the  presbytery  six  months  on  the  frontier,  without  receiv- 
ing a  cent  of  pay.  Nashville  Presbytery  tried  several  schemes. 
The  best  one,  perhaps,  was  a  central  board,  with  auxiliary  societies 
throughout  the  presbytery;  but  in  two  years'  time  this  plan  lost  its 
vitality,  aud  again  the  wail  of  "no  circuit  riders"  made  the  meet- 
ings of  presbytery  a  Bochim.  This  whole  system  of  machinery 
broke  down  first  in  the  Nashville  Presbytery.  It  failed  in  all  the 
presbyteries  before  any  other  system  was  introduced. 

The  first  crash  of  the  falling  fabric  came  at  the  fall  meeting  of 
the  Nashville  Presbytery,  in  1816.  No  itinerants  could  be  secured, 
whereupon  the  presbytery  apportioned  its  field  and  its  churches 
among  its  ministers,  requiring  each  one  to  supply  the  congrega- 
tions assigned  him  as  often  as  the  circumstances  permitted.  The 
fact  that  no  itinerants  could  be  secured  was  regarded  by  the  presby- 
tery with  alarm.  A  fast-day  was  ordered  in  all  the  congregations, 
and,  after  two  years  of  mourning,  the  system  had  another  brief 
resuscitation,  only  to  break  down  more  hopelessly  than  ever.  In 
the  new  presbyteries  organized  from  time  to  time,  the  original 
scheme  was  invariably  employed.  It  was  a  scheme  for  planting 
churches,  not  for  training  them  after  they  were  planted. 

This  system  of  itinerant  missionaries  followed  the  system  of 
circuit  riding  among  the  Methodists  in  some  particulars,  but  dif- 
fered from  it  in  many  others.  In  theory  it  was  voluntary,  but 
sometimes  the  pressure  on  a  young  man  to  induce  him  to  take  the 
circuit  was  very  great.  With  shame  be  it  recorded  that  many  a 
dear  boy  has  left  his  half-finished  course  of  studies  under  this  pres- 
sure, and  gone  out  "to  ride  the  circuit."  Many  such,  when  old 
men,  left  in  writings,  now  in  my  possession,  their  bitter  protests 
against  a  policy  which  robbed  them  of  their  education  and  crippled 
their  life-work.  Popular  usage  assigned  to  these  itinerant  mission- 
aries the  name  which  the  Methodists  used,  but  Logan  Presbytery 
8 


114  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.        [Period  ii. 

refused  to  accept  the  name,  and  never  used  it  in  official  records,  A 
part  of  the  church  accepted  the  name  with  cheerfuhiess,  since  it 
was  a  true  designation  of  the  thing  to  which  it  was  applied,  and 
since,  moreover,  it  came  to  us  all  perfumed  with  grateful  odors 
from  the  fields  of  heroic  toil  for  Jesus  by  Methodist  itinerants. 

The  name  Cumberland  Presbyterian  originated  in  a  somewhat 
similar  manner.  The  whole  of  Middle  Tennessee,  so  far  as  it  was 
settled,  and  some  of  Kentucky,  was,  in  an  early  day,  called  Cum- 
berland— not  at  first  "the  Cumberland  country,"  but  just  Cumber- 
land. The  settlement  in  the  eastern  end  of  Tennessee  was  called 
Watauga.  These  were  germs  for  two  new  States,  and  not  till 
long  after  were  they  the  eastern  and  middle  portions  of  one  State. 
Cumberland  included  all  of  McGready's  field.  Here  the  great 
revival,  which  was  so  bitterly  opposed  by  some,  began.  Before 
the  Cumberland  Presbytery  ever  existed,  the  two  parties  of  Ken- 
tucky S}'nod  were  designated  by  names  which  the  people  saw  fit  to 
apply.  One  was  ' '  the  Cumberland  party, ' '  which  was  also  called 
the  levival  party.  When  Transylvania  Presbytery  was  divided, 
and  all  that  country  which  was  called  Cumberland  assigned  to  a 
new  presbytery  called  Cumberland  Presbytery,  the  epithet  ' '  Cum- 
berland Presbyterian"  was  already  in  popular  use  as  designating 
all  that  part  of  the  Presbyterian  church  which  favored  the  revival. 
All  this  was  years  before  the  organization  of  our  church.  When 
the  church  was  organized  in  1810,  it  adopted  no  denominational 
name.  There  was  no  intention  then  of  starting  a  new  church.  It 
was  an  independent  presbytery  of  Presbyterians,  which  still  hoped 
for  restoration  to  its  old  status  in  the  mother  church.  The  people 
called  its  adherents  Cumberland  Presbyterians.  It  was  not  till 
1813  that  the  new  church  indirectly  adopted  the  name  which  the 
people  had  already  given.  Associated  with  all  that  was  most 
sacred  while  the  new  doctrines  were  costing  men  their  ecclesias- 
tical lives,  and  endeared  on  that  account  to  such  an  extent  that  no 
subsequent  effort  to  shake  it  off  could  be  tolerated  by  those  who 
knew  and  held  sacred  the  traditions  of  our  origin,  the  name 
remains  to  this  day  what  the  people  and  God's  providence  made  it. 
It  has  been  often  mocked  at,  but,  by  God's  grace,  the  church  will 
make  it  as  dear  one  day  to  all  who  love  true  work  for  Jesus,  as  it 


Chapter  XIII.]  ThE   ThREE   PrESBYTERIES.  II5 

is  now  to  those  whose  ears  still  ring,  when  it  is  mentioned,  with 
the  holy  songs  of  the  great  revival  and  the  fearless  sermons  of 
those  who  first  proclaimed  a  general  atonement  in  Presbyterian 
pulpits. 

Another  custom  originating  in  the  Cumberland  Presbytery,  and 
kept  up  by  its  three  successors  for  many  years,  was  that  of  having 
a  presbyterial  library  whose  books  were  exchanged  at  every  meet- 
ing of  the  presbytery.  Each  minister  paid  five  dollars  into  the 
library  fund,  and  also  solicited  contributions  from  the  wealthy  for 
the  purchase  of  books,  so  that  the  library  grew  in  a  few  years  to  a 
considerable  collection.  A  list  of  the  books  allowed  each  preacher 
form  part  of  the  minutes  of  every  presbyterial  meeting.  The 
itinerant  system  failed  first  in  the  Nashville  Presbytery;  so  did  the 
custom  of  having  a  presbyterial  library.  In  18 19  that  presbytery- 
sold  out  its  books.  Cities,  dense  populations,  and  schools  super- 
seded the  itinerant  library,  as  they  did  all  the  system  with  which  it 
stood  connected. 

Another  custom  was  universal  all  through  this  period.  At  all 
the  camp-meetings  there  was  at  least  one  sermon  preached  on  a  call 
to  the  ministry.  The  pressure  on  the  presbyteries  for  more  preach- 
ers was  perhaps  greater  than  was  ever  before  brought  to  bear  on  any 
church  judicatures  since  the  days  of  the  apostles.  Several  causes 
co-operated  to  produce  this  pressure.  The  first  was  the  constant 
opening  up  of  new  territories  to  immigrants;  for  the  period  when 
these  presbyteries  were  the  only  ones  in  the  church  is  precisely  the 
period  when  there  was  the  grandest  expansion  of  our  national  ter- 
ritory. The  second  cause  was  the  emigration  of  Cumberland  Pres- 
byterians from  Kentucky  and  Tennessee  to  these  new  fields.  Let 
the  population  of  Indiana,  Illinois,  Missouri,  Arkansas,  Alabama, 
and  Mississippi  be  examined  to-day,  and  a  very  large  portion  of  the 
people  will  be  found  to  be  descendants  of  Kentuckians  and  Ten- 
nesseans.  These  two  States  were  the  birthplace  of  the  new  church. 
Cumberland  Presbyterian  emigrants  settled  over  all  these  vast 
fields,  and  they  all  wrote  back  to  the  presbyteries  begging  for  the 
gospel.  The  point  of  special  interest  is  that  all  that  vast  Western 
and  Southern  field,  which  drew  its  population  largely  from  Ten- 
nessee and  Kentucky,  was  opened  to  white  settlers  at  a  time  when 


ii6  CUMBERI.AND  Presbyterian  History.         [Period  ii. 

the  Cumberland  Presbyterians  of  those  two  States  were  intensely 
active  in  sending  out  missionaries. 

Two  facts  apparently,  but  not  really,  inconsistent  meet  us  here. 
In  all  the  older  settlements  where  other  denominations  had  estab- 
lished churches,  and  in  all  large  towns,  where  a  settled  pastor  was 
considered  necessary  to  maintain  the  life  of  a  congregation,  our 
first  preachers  showed  great  reluctance  to  organizing  churches. 
As  a  general  rule,  throughout  this  period,  they  absolutely  refused, 
even  when  pressed  to  do  so,  to  organize  Cumberland  Presbyterian 
congregations  in  such  places.  The  other  fact  is,  that  in  all  the 
wild  frontier,  in  the  sparsest  and  most  destitute  neighborhoods, 
their  readiness  to  organize  churches,  even  where  there  seemed  to  be 
very  little  hope  of  any  permanent  supply  of  preachers,  amounted 
to  recklessness.  The  feeling  that  it  was  their  duty  to  look  first 
after  the  souls  of  those  who  were  least  likely  to  be  looked  after  by 
others,  no  doubt  prompted  them  to  pursue  this  course. 

Another  custom  was  universal.  Everj'  regular  minister  was 
required  to  assemble  the  congregations  and  examine  them  in  the 
catechism.  All  the  licensed  and  ordained  ministers  were  called 
upon  at  every  meeting  of  the  presb}-ter}'  to  report  whether  they 
had  complied  with  this  requirement,  and  there  were  very  few  cases 
of  failure.  Copies  of  the  catechism  were  in  nearly  every  Cumber- 
land Presbyterian  household,  and  every  child,  as  well  as  every  adult 
church  member,  was  expected  to  study  it.  The  old  men  who  sur- 
vived this  custom  mourned  over  its  loss,  and  refused  to  be  com- 
forted, prophesying  looseness  and  instability  of  doctrines  as  the 
fruit  of  its  abandonment.  -  In  more  than  one  case  among  the  liter- 
ary remains  of  the  fathers  which  have  been  placed  in  my  hands  are 
found  large  packages  of  our  first  catechism. 

The  subject  of  a  school  for  their  candidates  was  discussed  by 
each  of  the  presbyteries.  Then  Nashville  Presbytery  (1822)  asked 
the  others  to  meet  its  delegates  in  convention  to  consider  the  ques- 
tion of  a  presbyterial  school.  This  action  was  the  forerunner  of 
the  synod's  determination,  in  1824,  to  establish  a  school  for  the 
whole  church. 

A  prejudice  existed  all  through  this  early  period  against  statis- 
tics.    An  order  requiring  statistical  reports  passed  at  one  meeting 


Chapter  XIII.]  ThK   ThREE    PRESBYTERIES.  II7 

of  the  synod,  and  was  repealed  at  the  next.  At  some  of  the  ses- 
sions of  presbytery  the  missionaries  would  report  the  number  of 
conversions  and  accessions  in  their  districts;  but  in  most  of  the 
records  no  mention  of  any  numbers  can  be  found  either  in  the 
reports  of  missionaries  or  reports  of  the  Committee  on  the  State 
of  Religion.  Great  and  precious  revivals,  without  the  mention  of 
statistics,  are  reported  at  everj^  meeting  of  presbytery.  The  clear- 
est index  to  the  rate  of  growth  is  found  in  the  organization  of  new 
presbyteries.  In  sixteen  years  the  three  presbyteries  grew  to  eigh- 
teen, the  least  of  which  was  as  large  as  the  Logan  Presbytery  at 
its  organization.  It  is  true  that  the  Committee  on  the  State  of 
Religion,  at  each  session  of  synod,  did  report  the  number  of  con- 
versions for  the  year;  but  the  fact  that  no  system  of  gathering 
statistics  was  in  use  by  the  presbyteries  shows  how  incomplete 
these  synodical  reports  must  have  been. 

Dr.  Burrow  was  perhaps  foremost  among  anti-statistical  minis- 
ters in  our  church.  He  entered  the  ministry'  in  the  Elk  Presby- 
tery, and  was  one  of  the  noblest  specimens  of  the  itinerant  preacher 
that  any  church  ever  had.  He  believed  in  reporting  only  to  God. 
He  was  afraid  of  all  counting,  all  sounding  of  trumpets;  and  all 
his  life  he  advocated  the  "pay  or  no  pay"  rule  about  preaching; 
and  not  only  a'dvocated,  but  practiced  it  till  his  dying  day.  There 
were  several  thousand  converts  at  his  meetings  the  last  year  of  his 
ministry. 

Another  custom  in  those  days  was  to  hold  camp-meetings  in 
communities  which  contained  not  a  single  member  of  any  church. 
Not  only  were  such  communities  found  on  all  the  frontier,  but 
there  were  many  people  also  who  had  never  heard  a  sermon  in 
their  lives.  If  a  few  families  of  unconverted  pioneers  could  be 
persuaded  to  move  to  the  place  selected,  and  there  entertain  the 
visitors,  the  camp-meeting  was  held.  Nor  was  it  a  difficult  thing 
to  find  liberal-hearted  men  who  would  engage  in  this  work. 

Out  of  many  examples  I  select  one  instance  of  the  sort,  described 
by  the  venerable  William  Lynn,  of  Indiana,  and  published  just  be- 
fore his  departure  to  his  crown  and  kingdom.  This  camp-meeting 
was  in  Daviess  County,  Kentucky.  There  was  not  a  single  church 
member  in  all  the  neighborhood;   but  men  who  were  willing  to 


ii8  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.        [Period  ii. 

camp  and  feed  the  multitudes  were  found,  and  the  camp-meeting 
was  held.  At  that  meeting  those  twin  heroes  of  the  cross,  Chap- 
man and  Harris,  were  present,  and  also  several  probationers  for  the 
ministry.  The  meeting  was  greatly  blessed  of  God,  and  among 
the  converts  were  three  men  who  afterward  entered  the  ministry. 
This  was  a  camp-meeting  held  by  those  heroic  missionaries  who 
are  better  known  by  the  borrowed  name  of  "circuit  riders."  But 
much  more  remarkable  cases  are  on  record.  In  the  tours  of  R.  D. 
King,  Reuben  Burrow,  and  Daniel  Patton  among  the  destitute  set- 
tlements, it  was  a  common  thing  for  them  to  persuade  unconverted 
men  to  establish  a  camp-ground.  Indeed,  there  were  fewer  and 
smaller  obstacles  to  success  among  the  rough  men  of  the  frontier, 
where  no  churches  of  any  denomination  existed,  than  there  were 
where  denominational  prejudices  were  active.  One  thing  is  worthy 
of  special  commemoration:  these  unconverted  campers  generally 
v/ere  converted  to  God  in  these  meetings,  and  had  abundant  reasons 
to  rejoice  that  they  had  ever  undertaken  to  camp.  One  dear  lady 
of  this  class  said  God  had  paid  her  back  in  her  own  conversion  and 
the  conversion  of  thirteen  members  of  her  family. 

In  all  this  period  and  long  afterward  the  preaching  of  our  min- 
isters belonged  to  a  very  thorough  system.  They  believed  the  doc- 
trine that  man  is  spiritually  dead.  This,  to  them,  was  not  merely 
figurative,  it  was  real.  They  taught  that  in  his  natural  state  there 
is  no  element  of  spiritual  life  in  man.  As  well  talk  of  cultivating 
a  rose  until  you  make  it  a  bird,  as  talk  of  educating  and  training  a 
man  up  into  spiritual  life.  In  his  natural  state  man  is  thoroughly 
hostile  to  God  and  all  spiritual  good.  Not  only  some  of  the  imag- 
inations of  the  thoughts  of  his  heart  are  evil,  but  "every  imagina- 
tion." Not  only  that,  but  they  are  evil  continually.  These  first 
jDreachers  probed  deep,  and  generally  roused  opposition  and  anger 
at  first.  Afterward  the  scales  fell  from  the  sinner's  own  eyes,  until 
he  saw  his  depravity  and  condemnation,  and  then  cries  of  alarm 
and  remorse  broke  forth  from  his  lips. 

Concerning  the  new  birth  their  teaching  was  equally  thorough. 
Regeneration  meant  a  new  creation,  not  a  mere  training;  not  "let 
the  goat  run  with  the  sheep  till  it  becomes  a  sheep;"  but  divine 
creative  power  was  first  to  make  it  a  sheep,  and  then  training  was 


Chapter  XIII.l  ThE  ThREE   PRESBYTERIES.  II9 

to  follow.  They  were  equally  thorough  in  their  belief  in  the  doc- 
trine of  eternal  future  punishment,  and  they  preached  it  everj^- 
where.  About  the  atoning  blood — the  precious  blood  of  Christ — 
their  preaching  was  equally  unambiguous  and  emphatic.  They 
taueht  that  our  salvation  rests  on  no  mere  moral  influence  and 
example,  but  on  a  divine  vicarious  sacrifice.  The  moral  theory 
never  had  any  place  in  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  system. 
They  believed  and  taught  that  the  Christian's  legal  standing  before 
God  is  exclusively  in  Christ,  and  not  at  all  in  self — not  partly  in 
Christ  and  partly  in  works,  but  all  in  Christ. 

They  were  equally  thorough  in  their  belief  of  inspiration,  even 
ad  verbiim.  In  regard  to  God's  indwelling  presence,  concerning 
his  answers  to  the  prayer  of  faith,  and  all  similar  matters,  they 
held  to  no  shallow  system.  If  a  probationer  for  the  ministry  in 
that  day  had  taught  any  of  the  shallow  systems  of  modern  times 
he  would  have  been  instantly  thrown  overboard.  Yet  they  insisted 
upon  the  necessity  for  good  works,  not  as  a  procuring  cause  but  as 
a  fruit  of  the  new  life.  If  the  fruit  were  lacking  it  was  because 
the  life  was  lacking.  Works,  out  of  love  to  Christ  as  the  motive, 
they  preached  with  great  success. 

While  I  mention  the  preaching  of  these  doctrines  as  a  peculiar- 
ity of  our  early  pulpits,  I  do  not  mean  to  teach  that  our  people 
have  repudiated  these  fundamental  truths.  I  am  quite  sure  they 
have  not;  but  I  am  also  sure  that  these  doctrines  are  not  pressed  in 
the  pulpits  of  this  day  as  they  were  by  the  fathers.  In  my  opinion 
we  lose  by  this  change.  Leave  a  vital  doctrine  long  silent,  and  a 
generation  will  grow  up  which  will  utterly  reject  it. 


I20  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.        [Period  ii. 


CHAPTER   XIV. 


HISTORIC  CHURCHES— PLANTING  CHURCHES  IN  TEN- 
NESSEE AND  KENTUCKY. 

If  called  like  them  to  cope 
In  evil  times  with  dark  and  evil  porters, 
O  be  their  faith,  their  zeal,  their  courage  ours! 

—  fr.  H.  Burleigh. 

WHILE  it  is  impossible,  as  a  general  thing,  to  give  the  his- 
tory' of  individual  congregations,  there  are  a  few  whose 
prominence  requires  special  notice.  The  churches  which  existed 
before  the  revival,  and  afterward  united  with  the  Cumberland 
Presbyterians,  have  necessarily  been  noticed  in  the  histor}'-  of  the 
revival.  Of  this  class  a  few  still  exist  as  Cumberland  Presbyterian 
congregations.  Red  River  church,  in  Kentucky,  is  a  center  of  his- 
toric interest.  The  old  grave-yard,  with  dates  which  run  back  to 
1730,  is  itself  a  history.  Among  these  graves  is  that  of  the  eldest 
brother  of  the  Rev.  Finis  Ewing — General  Robert  Ewing — bom 
1760,  a  soldier  in  the  revolutionary  war,  a  member  of  the  Kentucky 
lep-islature,  etc.  One  of  his  sons  still  lives  in  the  neighborhood. 
The  grave  of  his  daughter,  Mary  B.,  which  is  also  there,  has  spe- 
cial interest  for  Cumberland  Presbyterians.  Her  first  husband  was 
the  Rev.  Philip  McDonnold.  The  parents  of  the  Rev.  A.  M.  Bryan 
lived  and  died  in  this  neighborhood.  When  their  old  house  was 
newly  roofed,  the  old  shingles  were  found  to  be  pegged  on.  There 
were  no  nails  in  the  country  when  that  house  was  built,  and  iron 
was  ten  dollars  a  pound.  Near  this  church  the  ruins  of  the  old 
fort  which  protected  the  pioneers  from  the  Indians  can  still  be 
traced.  It  was  called  Mauldin's  Station.  Red  River  is  still  a 
revival  church.  The  old  log  house  is  superseded  by  one  of  mod- 
em construction,  but  the  old  fire  still  burns  on  its  altars.  This 
church  is  an  exception,  too,  among  the  old  churches,  in  another 


Chapter  XIV.]  HISTORIC   CHURCHES.  121 

respect.  It  does  not  cling  to  the  old  programme  of  taking  a 
preacher's  labors  without  pay. 

The  Beech  church  and  Gasper  River  church  are  two  more  of 
our  historic  congregations.  Gasper  was  for  a  time  abandoned,  its 
members  going  to  Pilot  Knob,  but,  since  the  war,  it  has  been 
ao;ain  revived,  and  still  works  for  Jesus.  The  dates  and  names  on 
the  tombstones  in  its  grave-yard  form  a  precious  record. 

The  Beech  church'  was  organized  in  1800.  Its  first  house  of 
worship  was  a  union  meeting-house.  The  Rev.  William  McGee 
was  its  first  pastor.  In  1810  this  church  joined  the  new  denomina- 
tion. After  McGee  died  this  congregation  had  no  regular  pastor, 
but  was  supplied  by  Hugh  Kirkpatrick  and  other  itinerants.  After 
many  years  they  built  their  present  stone  church  near  the  site  of  the 
union  church,  not  being  willing  to  leave  the  old  grave-yard.  In 
1832  they  organized  their  first  Sunday-school,  the  Rev.  John  Beard 
officiating.  One  hundred  and  twenty  pupils  were  enrolled.  An- 
nual camp-meetings,  great  revivals,  with  many  ministers  rising  up 
from  among  the  converts,  make  part  of  the  history  of  the  Beech 
church. 

When  camp-meetings  and  itinerant  supplies  were  given  up,  the 
Beech  church,  in  spite  of  its  Pysbyterian  origin,  utterly  failed  to 
adopt  the  new  programme  of  settled  pastors  in  the  true  sense.  By 
supplies  and  annual  revival  meetings  it  did,  however,  manage  to 
keep  alive.  Like  all  the  churches  which  pursue  this  course,  it  is 
sadly  suffering,  in  spite  of  the  "old  fire"  which  is  still  there. 

Of  the  churches  planted  by  the  revival  party  before  the  division, 
there  are  several  still  in  existence  as  Cumberland  Presbyterian  con- 
gregations. Among  these  are  Smyrna,  Goshen,  and  Big  Spring  in 
Tennessee,  and  Piney  in  Kentucky.  There  are  several  others,  in 
Alabama,  and  in  other  places,  but  I  can  mention  only  a  few  prom- 
inent churches  of  this  class. 

Perhaps  the  most  interesting  of  these  is  Big  Spring,  Wilson 
County,  Tennessee.  In  1801  some  of  the  revival  party  who  lived 
too  far  from  Bethesda  to  attend  regularly  there,  resolved  to  have 
services  at  the  Big  Spring.  They  secured  a  monthly  appointment 
from  the  Rev.  William  Hodge.     The  next  fall  they  held  a  camp- 

^Revivalist,  November  28,  1832.     Hugh  Kirkpatrick's  sketch. 


122  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.        [Period  ii. 

meeting  on  the  original  plan,  without  tents  or  cabins. '  This  meet- 
ing was  not  held  on  the  spot  now  occupied  by  that  church,  but 
just  at  the  head  of  the  great  spring  which  gave  its  name  to  the 
congregation.  The  reasons  for  moving  the  camp-ground  years 
afterward  to  a  smaller  spring  in  the  same  neighborhood  are  un- 
known to  the  writer.  In  1802  they  built  open  sheds  to  camp  under. 
These  sloped  to  the  ground.^  When  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian 
church  was  organized,  the  Rev.  Thomas  Calhoun  was  called  to  be 
pastor  of  this  congregation.  The  word  pastor  must,  however,  be 
understood  in  a  modified  sense.  It  was  in  1810  that  the  final  loca- 
tion of  a  permanent  encampment  and  the  erection  of  a  house  of 
worship  took  place.  The  site  was  then  changed  to  its  present 
position. 

When  the  father  of  the  Rev.  Thomas  Calhoun  had  finished  his 
log-cabin,  where  the  new  camp-ground  was  located,  he  stuck  his 
sycamore  handspike  down  in  the  ground,  and  it  took  root  and  grew 
to  a  great  tree  which  still  stands.  People  used  to  go  to  the  Big 
Spring  camp-meeting  from  neighborhoods  a  hundred  miles  distant. 
Twenty  of  our  most  efficient  ministers  were  converted  at  that 
camp-ground.  Its  first  camp-meetings  were  glorious  visitations  of 
God's  power,  sending  out  all  over  the  State  an  influence  which  will 
live  forever.  All  the  Western  States  owe  some  of  their  noblest 
church  officers  to  the  Big  Spring  camp-meetings.  I  have  heard 
many  of  the  orators  whom  this  nation  and  Europe  loved  to  honor, 
but,  in  my  humble  judgment,  Calhoun  surpassed  them  all.  If 
Moody  has  a  special  baptism  of  power  for  his  peculiar  work,  in  a 
far  higher  sense  did  that  baptism  rest  on  Calhoun.  Many  a  time 
at  old  Big  Spring  camp-ground  have  the  vast  assemblies  gathered 
there  felt  and  acknowledged  that  God  spake  to  them  through 
human  lips. 

Thomas  Calhoun  lived  near  this  church,  and  was  pastor  of  this 
and  Smyrna  congregations  from  the  time  of  his  ordination  till  the 
close  of  his  ministry — forty-five  years.  After  his  death,  emigration 
to  Texas  seriously  crippled  Big  Spring.  The  Lone  Star  State  has 
drawn  to  its  bosom  nearly  all  the  strength  of  many  a  Tennessee 
congregation.     When  the  people  of  Big  Spring  sold  their  homes, 

'MSB.  of  Alec.  Aston.         »The  Calhoun  MSS. 


Chapter  XIV.]  HISTORIC   CHURCHES.  123 

Baptists  and  others  were  the  purchasers.  Yet  there  have  been  great 
revivals  among  our  people  there  in  more  recent  times,  and  there  is  a 
respectable  number  of  members  now;  but  the  very  nearest  of  these 
live  two  miles  from  the  church.  It  has,  at  last,  been  agreed  to 
build  a  new  house  nearer  the  congregation.  The  old  house  of 
cedar  logs,  and  those  raised  seats,  and  that  pulpit  with  its  ' '  sound- 
ing board,"  and  its  clerk's  seat,  will  not  be  left  intact. 

The  Smyrna  church,  in  Jackson  County,  Tennessee,  also  has  an 
interesting  history.  In  the  private  houses  of  two  old  men,  William- 
son and  Sadler,  meetings  were  held  by  Alexander  Anderson,  William 
McGee,  and  Samuel  King,  in  1800.  The  next  year  a  church  was 
organized,  a  spot  selected  for  a  camp-ground,  and  Thomas  Calhoun, 
then  only  a  candidate,  held  a  meeting  on  this  spot.  Colonel 
Smith,  the  father  of  the  Rev.  Robert  DonnelPs  first  wife,  lived 
there.  People  used  to  go  a  hundred  miles  to  attend  the  Smyrna 
camp-meetings. 

Calhoun's  life-work  as  a  pastor  was  in  Big  Spring  and  Smyrna 
congregations.  All  of  Smith  County  and  part  of  two  other  coun- 
ties lay  between  his  home  and  Smyrna  church.  A  large  part  of 
this  distance  was  filled  with  dense  canebrakes.  When  there  was 
snow,  the  high  cane  overhung  the  narrow  path  until  it  was  diffi- 
cult to  travel  on  horseback.  Yet  he  never  missed  his  appointments. 
Colonel  Smith  has  left  us  a  written  statement  about  several  of  the 
thrilling  sermons  preached  there  by  Calhoun,  and  about  the  far- 
reaching  revivals  which  often  resulted  from  the  camp-meetings. 

I  clip  from  the  Banner  of  Peace  the  following  notice  of  another 
historic  church: 

In  1799  a  few  persons,  members  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  mostly 
from  North  Carolina,  agreed  to  meet  every  Sabbath  to  read  the  Script- 
ures and  pray  with  and  for  each  other.  They  afterward  constituted  the 
Cumberland  Presbyterian  church  which  was  organized  at  New  Hope, 
Wilson  County,  Tenn.  Their  names  are  William  and  Catherine  Gray, 
James  and  Margaret  Stewart,  Andrew  and  Elizabeth  Bay,  Alexander 
and  Jane  Kirkpatrick,  John  and  Ann  Kirkpatrick,  David  and  Rebecca 
Kirkpatrick,  Samuel  and  Sarah  Motheral,  Elias  Morrison,  Joseph  Kirk- 
patrick, and  Margaret  Motheral.  "These  all  died  in  the  faith."  The 
same  year  (1799)  the  Rev.  William  McGee  preached  the  first  sermon 
in  the  bounds  of  this  congregation.     From  this  time  until  1810  they 


124  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.        [Period  ii. 

enjoyed  occasional  circuit  jDreaching  by  Samuel  King,  Alexander 
Anderson,  Hugh  Kirkpatrick,  Thomas  Calhoun,  Alexander  Chap- 
man, James  B.  Porter,  and  David  Foster — all  of  whom  have  joined  the 
sacramental  host  beyond  death's  stream,  where  parting  is  no  more. 

In  the  fall  of  iSio  this  congregation,  afterward  noted  for  camp- 
meetings,  held  their  first  camp-meeting  near  the  "Double  Islands,"  on 
Cumberland  River.  At  this  meeting  they  were  much  revived  and 
encouraged;  so  much  so,  that  the  next  year  (1811)  they  purchased  a  lot 
of  ground,  erected  camps,  and  held  a  second  camp-meeting  one  mile 
above  their  first  encampment.  The  Rev.  William  McGee,  who  was 
present,  called  this  new  camp-ground  New  Hope.  Here,  in  1S12,  the 
Rev.  Hugh  Kirkpatrick,  with  the  names  designated  above,  organized  a 
Cumberland  Presbyterian  church,  and  preached  once  a  month  till  1S16, 
when  he  was  succeeded  by  the  Rev.  John  Provine,  who  preached 
monthly  until  1830.  From  this  date  to  1S43  they  weie  supplied  with 
preaching  by  the  Rev.  George  Donnell  and  the  Rev.  John  L.  Dillard. 
The  former  served  four,  the  latter  nine  years.  The  Rev.  M.  S.  Vaughan 
then  accepted  the  charge  and  preached  until  1850,  when  he  was  fol- 
lowed by  the  Rev.  J.  E.  Davis,  who  continued  two  years. 

In  the  fall  of  18^3  the  Rev.  William  D.  Chadick  was  regularly  in- 
stalled pastor  of  this  church  by  the  late  Rev.  F.  R.  Cossitt,  D.D.,  and 
continued  his  labors  till  1855,  when  the  Rev.  J.  C.  Bowderi  supplied 
the  congregation  one  year. 

The  Rev.  M.  S.  Vaughan  again  received  a  call  to  this  congregation 
and  preached  until  1S59,  when  he  was  succeeded  b}'  the  Rev.  William 
A.  Haynes,  who  served  as  pastor,  with  the  exception  of  two  or  more 
years  during  the  late  war,  till  the  spring  of  1866.  The  Rev.  W.  W.  Sud- 
darth  succeeded  Mr.  Haynes,  and  labored  till  the  fall  of  1867,  at  which 
time  he  received  a  call  from  Lebanon  congregation,  and  the  Rev.  M.  S, 
Vaughan  was  called  for  the  third  time  to  New  Hope. 

From  these  facts,  which  I  find  in  the  church  records,  we  learn  that 
New  Hope  has  enjoyed  the  means  of  grace  from  i799»  and  an  organ- 
ized existence  of  fifty-six  years'  standing.  During  this  time  the  church 
held  and  supported  fifty-three  camp-meetings.  At  these  meetings  hun- 
dreds, if  not  thousands,  of  sinners  were  brought  to  a  knowledge  of  the 
truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus,  and  obtained  through  grace  a  good  hope  of  a 
happy  immortality  beyond  time.  Among  these  are  many  able  ministers 
of  the  gospel.  Some  of  them  have  laid  down  the  gospel  trumpet  for 
glittering  crowns  in  glory.  Others,  trembling  under  the  effects  of  age 
and  hard  service  in  their  high  vocation,  are  yet  preaching  Jesus  to  a 
perishing  world,  each  cheered  on  in  his  "labor  of  love"  with  this  most 
precious  promise  of  his  divine  Master,  "Be  thou  faithful  unto  death, 
and  I  will  give  thee  a  crown  of  life."         Felix  H.  Taylor,  Clerk. 


Chapter  XIV.]  HISTORIC    CHURCHES.  125 

The  first  church  organized  as  a  Cumberland  Presbyterian  church 
was  Mt.  Moriah,  in  Giles  County,  Tennessee.  The  Rev.  C.  N. 
Wood,  lately  gone  to  his  reward,  secured  for  me  the  historical 
sketch  of  this  congregation  which  is  here  used.  He  was  converted 
at  one  of  the  meetings  at  Mt.  Moriah,  and  became  a  member  of 
that  congregation.  This  church  was  organized  in  March,  1810,  by 
Rev.  James  B.  Porter.  A  very  full  history  of  its  work,  written  by 
one  of  the  elders,  is  before  me.  This  congregation  has  had  fifteen 
"pastors."  Mr.  Porter  served  from  1810  till  the  death  of  his  wife 
in  1815,  when  he  resumed  the  life  of  an  itinerant  preacher.  There 
was  one  year  in  Mr.  Porter's  pastorate  of  wonderful  religious  inter- 
est. The  camp-meeting  was  unusually  successful.  The  people 
carried  the  interest  home  with  them.  The  earthquake  (1812)  filled 
all  the  country  with  great  solemnity.  Mr.  Porter  knew  how  to  fol- 
low up  these  impressions,  and  the  whole  year  round  there  were 
conversions  all  through  the  neighborhood.  The  interest  in  the 
private  houses  resembled  that  in  the  Gasper  River  neighborhood 
fourteen  years  before. 

Carson  P.  Reed  served  this  congregation  as  pastor  sixteen  years. 
After  Reed  came  J.  N.  Edmiston  who  served  three  years.  When 
he  resigned,  the  church  fell  upon  the  miserable  expedient  of  itin- 
erant supplies.  One  thing  the  session  put  on  record  in  their  his- 
tory which  deserves  emphasis.  The  church,  they  say,  did  not 
prosper  under  preaching  from  itinerants  as  it  did  under  permanent 
pastors. 

The  Rev.  G.  W.  Mitchell  became  pastor  of  this  church  early  in 
the  year  1867,  and  served  until  the  close  of  1871.  During  this 
time  the  congregation  enjoyed  its  greatest  prosperity.  The  session 
testifies  that  the  whole  membership  was  quickened  into  new  life 
and  activity.  This  church  has  tested  three  systems:  it  has  had 
regular  pastors,  it  has  depended  on  the  ministrations  of  itinerant 
preachers,  and  at  other  times  it  has  employed  temporary  supplies. 
Its  highest  success  has  been  attained  under  the  labors  of  regular 
pastors.  During  the  five  years  in  which  the  Rev.  D.  S.  Boden- 
hamer  (now  of  Trinity  University)  served  as  pastor,  there  were 
ninety-six  accessions  to  the  congregation.  Twenty-two  converts 
of  this  church  have  become  preachers.     There   are   some   noted 


126  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.        [Period  ii. 

names  on  the  list,  such  as  N.  P.  Modrall,  C.  P.  Reed,  W.  S.  Bumey, 
LeRoy  Woods,  C.  N.  Wood,  all  now  gone  to  their  reward,  besides 
a  noble  band  who  still  labor  for  Jesus. 

The  venerable  Joseph  Brown,  one  of  our  old  preachers,  made 
his  home  near  this  church,  and  was  buried  in  its  cemetery.  When 
he  was  nearly  a  hundred  years  old  he  would  ask  permission  to 
stand  in  the  pulpit  beside  the  preacher,  in  order  to  catch  every 
word.  As  his  hearing  was  bad,  he  would  hold  his  ear  close  up  to 
the  preacher,  and  occasionally  cry  out  "Glory  to  God! " 

This  congregation  has  now  a  large  brick  church,  built  in  1856, 
and  is  in  a  prosperous  condition.  Its  camp-meetings  were  kept  up, 
with  one  intermission,  until  1853,  when  they  gave  place  to  pro- 
tracted meetings. 

Another  one  of  our  first  churches  is  Goshen,  in  Franklin  Coun- 
ty, Tennessee,  on  the  Boiling  Fork  of  Elk  River,  near  the  Cum- 
berland Mountains.'  Its  site  is  beautiful.  Nearly  all  the  first 
settlers  here  were  Scotch-Irish  Presbyterians.  In  181 1  the  Rev. 
Samuel  King  and  the  Rev.  William  McGee  persuaded  the  people 
to  hold  a  camp-meeting.  A  shed  and  camps  were  built,  and  King 
and  McGee  held  the  meeting.  There  were  hundreds  of  conver- 
sions, and  a  Cumberland  Presbyterian  church  was  organized.  An 
incident  of  this  meeting  is  characteristic  of  the  times.  King 
preached  on  the  Sabbath.  As  the  sermon  progressed  the  solem- 
nity grew  oppressive.  The  mighty  power  of  God  rested  like  sc 
weight  upon  the  people.  Men  almost  held  their  breath.  The 
preacher  felt  it  as  well  as  the  others.  By  and  by  the  solemnity 
grew  so  great  that  even  the  preacher's  tongue  was  silent.  He 
stood  a  moment  with  looks  of  iniutterable  awe,  and  then  went 
down  from  the  pulpit  and  started  to  the  woods.  When  he  had 
gone  about  a  hundred  yards,  he  turned  abruptly  back,  and  entered 
the  pulpit.  There  was  no  longer  any  look  of  awe,  but  a  holy, 
rapturous  light  on  his  face,  and  he  resumed  his  sermon  with  a 
thrilling  power  which  swept  ever}^  thing  before  it.  From  that  day 
on  that  congregation  has  been  noted  for  its  revivals.  Several  of 
its  converts  have  become  ministers. 

'  The  facts  concerning  this  church  were  furnished  by  Dr.  J.  B.  Cowan,  of  Tulla- 
homa,  Tennessee. 


Chapter  XIV.]  HISTORIC   CHURCHES.  127 

In  1813  Robert  Donnell  began  preaching  in  Nashville,  Tennes- 
see. Mr.  Craighead  v/as  then  in  charge  of  a  small  church  in  Nash- 
ville, and  he  exerted  himself  to  keep  the  people  from  hearing  the 
new  minister.  At  first  neither  preaching  place  nor  hospitality  was 
extended  to  him.  He  preached  in  the  court-house,  and  boarded  at 
the  hotel.  The  court-house  was  afterward  closed  against  him,  but 
the  mayor  offered  him  the  city  hall.  After  Donnell  had  filled  a 
few  appointments  in  this  hall,  the  mayor  died,  and  the  hall  also 
was  closed  against  the  preacher.  So  great  was  the  opposition  in 
town,  that  he  consented  to  move  his  appointment  to  the  dwelling- 
house  of  Mr.  Castleman  in  the  country.  Here  several  distinguished 
Tennesseans  were  converted.  Donnell' s  tour  in  East  Tennessee, 
described  a  little  further  on  in  this  book,  interrupted  his  Nashville 
work.  By  and  by  he  secured  the  assistance  of  the  Rev.  James  B. 
Porter,  and  held  a  protracted  meeting  in  the  court-house.  He  and 
Porter  lodged  at  the  hotel,  but  when  they  once  got  a  hearing,  hos- 
pitality was  extended  to  them  by  various  families.  The  preaching 
in  this  meeting  stirred  all  Nashville.  Under  one  of  Donnell' s  ser- 
mons Felix  Grundy,  an  unconverted  man,  afterward  United  States 
senator,  sprung  to  his  feet,  seized  his  friend.  Colonel  Foster,  also  a 
United  States  senator,  by  the  hand,  exclaiming,  ' '  That  is  the  truth, 
Foster,  every  word  of  it,  and  it  will  stand  at  the  day  of  judgment." 
Donnell  and  Porter  organized  a  church  at  this  meeting,  and  raised 
funds  for  a  building. 


128  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.        [Period  ir. 


CHAPTER  XV. 
EARLY  MISSIONS  TO  THE  INDIANS. 

Hark!  from  the  West  a  voice  is  heard, 

A  voice  beyond  the  mountain's  side; 
It  breaks  along  the  deep,  dark  wood 

Where  roams  the  savage  in  his  pride. 
A  star  appears,  its  cheering  raj 
Dawns  on  tlie  red  man's  darksome  way. 

—6'.  O.  Wright. 

THE  house  of  Samuel  McAdow,  in  which  our  first  presbytery- 
was  organized,  was  not  more  than  thirty  miles  from  the 
Indian  territory.  These  Indians  were  still  in  their  wild  and  savage 
state.  There  were,  it  is  true,  a  few  exceptions,  but  only  a  few. 
Most  of  these  red  men  were  as  far  away  from  civilization  or  Cliris- 
tianity  then  as  the  naked  sons  of  the  forest  who  first  greeted  Colum- 
bus over  three  centuries  earlier.  Some  of  the  Mississippi  Indians 
of  that  day  wore  no  clothing,  and  kept  up  all  the  habits  of  savage 
life.  There  is  a  testimony  of  great  significance  from  the  Presbyte- 
rian General  Assembly  to  the  effect  that  the  revival  of  1800  produced 
new  interest  in  the  evangelization  of  the  red  man  and  the  negro. 
The  facts  abundantly  sustain  this  testimony.  Gideon  Blackburn 
belonged  to  the  revival  party  in  East  Tennessee.  He  planted  a 
mission  among  the  Cherokees,  and  devoted  years  of  toil  to  that 
interest.  None  of  the  anti-revival  party  of  that  day  ever  became 
missionaries. 

In  Thomas  Calhoun's  first  evangelistic  tours  he  entered  the 
newly  settled  portions  of  Tennessee  before  the  whites  raised  their 
first  crop,  and  before  the  Indians  ceased  to  roam  over  the  countr}-. 
He  and  others  held  a  camp-meeting  at  the  spring  where  after^vard 
Monroe,  the  county  town  of  Overton  County,  Tennessee,  was  built. 
Roving  bands  of  Cherokee  Indians  attended  the  meeting.  One  of 
these  became  greatly  impressed,  and  there  are  reasons  to  believe  he 


Chapter  XV.]  EaRLY   MISSIONS  TO  THE   INDIANS.  129 

was  there  converted.  He  went  home  and  named  an  Indian  town 
after  Calhoun.  This  was  before  the  organization  of  the  Cumber- 
land Presbyterian  church.  In  talking  to  Calhoun  about  these  early 
days,  I  once  expressed  some  surprise  at  his  frequent  mention  of 
Indians  attending  his  meetings.  His  reply  was,  "Why,  the  In- 
dian line  was  just  over  here  on  Duck  River." 

In  Calhoun's  and  Donnell's  tour  in  East  Tennessee  (1815)  they 
held  two  protracted  meetings  for  the  Indians.  One  of  these  was  at 
Pumpkin  Town,  and  there  was  deep  interest  manifested  by  the 
hearers.  The  Rev.  James  Stewart  also  preached  to  the  Indians 
before  the  existence  of  our  first  missionary  board. 

All  three  of  the  presbyteries  which  composed  our  first  synod 
began  early  experimenting  on  plans  for  missionary  work  in  their 
own  vast  bounds.  Missionaries  were  sent  to  our  new  territories  as 
fast  as  these  territories  were  opened,  but  societies  formed  with  a 
special  view  to  work  among  the  Indians  and  the  heathen  originated 
in  18 18,  and  were  organized  in  all  three  of  the  presbyteries  in  the 
spring  of  that  year.  The  missionary  impulse  in  the  three  presby- 
teries was  simultaneous,  and  the  indications  are  that  it  started  with 
Samuel  King,  James  Stewart,  and  Robert  Bell.  All  of  these  men 
belonged  to  the  Elk  Presbytery.  A  constitution '  for  a  ladies'  mis- 
sionary society  was  drawn  up  by  Robert  Bell,  and  submitted  in 
March,  18 18,  to  the  congregations  of  Elk  Presbytery;  and  that  plan 
is  the  same  one  on  which  the  missionary  societies  in  all  three  of 
the  presbyteries  were  organized.  This  points  to  Elk  rather  than 
Logan  Presbytery^  as  the  first  to  move  in  this  work.  But  its  pri- 
ority, if  it  existed,  was  one  of  only  a  few  days  at  most,  for  the  9th 
of  Aprils  of  that  year  was  the  birthday  of  the  ladies'  society  in 
Russellville,  Kentucky.  One  thing  can  be  fairly  claimed  by  the 
Elk  Presbytery:  its  missionary  board  (there  was  a  central  board  for 
the  presbytery)  was  the  first  to  send  missionaries  to  the  Indians. 
In  October,  1818,  the  Elk  missionary  board  sent  Samuel  King  and 
William  Moore  to  a  work  which  lay  along  the  borders  of  the  Indian 
country  on  the  Tombigbee  River.*    When  these  two  men  returned, 

'The  Bell  papers.         "This  honor  has  been  claimed  for  Logan  Presbytery. 
^Mcdiutn,  1846,  p.  326. 

*  Minutes  of  Elk  Presbytery,  Vol.  I.,  p.  40.  '  . 

9 


130  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.        [Period  11. 

in  the  spring  of  1819,  and  reported  to  their  presbytery,'  they  made  a 
strong  appeal  in  behalf  of  the  red  men,  representing  them  as  eager 
to  hear  the  gospel,  and  to  have  a  missionary  school  located  among 
them.  The  language  of  this  appeal  would  indicate  that  the  schools 
under  the  American  Board  in  Mississippi  were  not  yet  in  existence. 
The  missionary  board  of  Elk  Presbytery  ="  then  sent  Samuel  King 
and  Robert  Bell,  in  the  fall  of  1819,  to  travel  as  evangelists  among 
the  Chickasaw  and  Choctaw  Indians.  On  their  return  Mr.  King 
brought  a  young  Indian  convert  with  him,  intending  to  educate 
him  for  the  ministry.  He  kept  this  boy  at  his  own  house,  and  sent 
him  to  school. 

These  missionaries  made  arrangements  in  the  Choctaw  Nation 
to  secure  a  location  and  money  for  a  missionary  school,  but  their 
plans  were  thwarted.  Then  the  missionary  society  of  Elk  Presby- 
tery sent  Mr.  Bell  to  establish  a  school  in  the  w^hite  settlements 
close  enough  to  the  border  for  the  Indians  to  patronize  it.  Accord- 
ingly in  May,  1820,  Mr.  Bell  opened  a  school  on  the  east  side  of  the 
Tombigbee  River,  nearly  opposite  the  dividing  line  between  the 
Chickasaws  and  the  Choctaws.  He  taught  here  only  four  weeks, 
when  the  missionary  board  of  Elk  Presbytery  directed  him  to  move 
the  school  into  the  Chickasaw  Nation,  the  board  having  sent  men 
thither  to  negotiate  a  treaty  for  that  purpose. 

The  Chickasaw  Nation  had  never  been  at  war  with  our  people. 
It  had  just  sold  out  to  the  whites  all  that  portion  of  Tennessee  and 
Kentucky  lying  between  the  Tennessee  River  and  the  Mississippi, 
a  delta  far  better  known  in  early  times  for  David  Crockett's  bear 
hunts  than  for  its  cotton.  The  Chickasaws,  so  long  the  near  neigh- 
bors of  Tennesseans,  were  still  neighbors  to  the  white  people  farther 
south.  Only  the  Tombigbee  River  (Indian  name  Itomba  Igoba)  lay 
between  them  and  the  white  settlements. 

The  Chickasaws  of  Mississippi,  at  the  time  our  first  mission 
was  opened,  were  in  advance  of  other  Indians.  Many  of  them  had 
built  cabins  to  live  in.  These  were  plastered  tight  with  mud. 
The  door  was  in  the  back  part  of  the  hut.  There  was  no  floor  but 
the  ground,  and  the  cabin  had  but  one  room.     The  dead  were 

»  Minutes  of  Elk  Presbjterj,  Vol.  I.,  p.  45.        'Ibid.,  p.  49. 


Chapter  XV.]  EARI.Y   MISSIONS  TO  THE   INDIANS.  13I 

buried  in  the  cabin  under  the  bed.  The  corpse  was  doubled  up 
before  it  was  buried,  and  the  vault,  after  receiving  the  mortal  re- 
mains, was  closely  plastered  over  with  mud.  When  the  body  was 
buried  the  squaws  present  took  down  their  hair  and  wore  it  dishev- 
elled around  their  faces  for  one  whole  moon.  During  sickness  they 
had  what  was  called  a  sick  dance.  They  laid  the  sick  out  wrapped 
in  blankets,  and  danced  around  them.  Some  of  these  Indians 
raised  patches  of  com  and  sweet  potatoes;  only  a  few  raised  cot- 
ton.    [See  Ladies'  Pearly  November,  i860,  p.  76.] 

The  traditions  of  the  Tombigbee  River  surpass  in  thrilling  in- 
terest those  of  the  Mississippi.  At  no  spot  do  more  of  those  tra- 
ditions center  than  at  Cotton  Gin  Port.  Here  at  an  early  day  the 
United  States  government  established  a  cotton  gin  among  the 
Indians  to  induce  them  to  engage  in  the  cultivation  of  cotton. 
Levi  Colbert,  the  most  enlightened  of  all  the  Chickasaw  chiefs, 
moved  to  the  neighborhood  and  devoted  himself  to  persuading 
his  people  to  raise  cotton,  he  himself  setting  the  example.  Here 
at  Cotton  Gin  the  United  States  government  had  a  post-office. 
The  country  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  Tombigbee,  in  Robert 
Bell's  day,  belonged  to  the  white  people,  and  some  families  lived 
there,  the  father  of  Dr.  C.  H.  Bell  among  them.  Cotton  Gin  Port 
as  early  as  1800  began  to  be  a  shipping  point  for  emigrants  to  the 
Tensas  and  other  new  countries.  Canoes  lashed  together  and  cov- 
ered with  a  floor  of  cane  made  the  boats.  The  wreck '  of  one  such 
boat  at  night,  just  below  Cotton  Gin,  furnishes  one  of  those  thrill- 
ing traditions  of  the  Tombigbee  of  which  there  are  so  many;  but 
this  tradition  is  eclipsed  in  interest  by  the  more  recent  one  of  the 
burning  of  the  Eliza  Battle,  and  the  fearful  loss  of  life  on  that  bitter 
night  in  March,  1858.  A  beloved  Cumberland  Presbyterian  min- 
ister, A.  M.  Newman,  was  among  those  who  perished  when  that 
steamboat  was  burned.  Many  of  the  passengers  escaped  on  cotton 
bales.  A  gentleman  who  was  on  the  boat  gave  me  an  account  of 
that  catastrophe.  Newman  threw  a  bale  of  cotton  into  the  river 
and  placed  his  wife  and  child  upon  it,  and  then  leaped  in  him- 
self without  any  cotton  bale.     Mrs.  Newman  and  daughter  were 

» Picket's  Alabama,  Vol.  I.,  pp.  187-189. 


132  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.        [Period  11. 

taken  up  by  my  infonnant  and  saved,  but  Newman  perished  in  the 
waves. 

When  Robert  Bell's  two  comrades  (the  commissioners  of  Elk 
Presbytery)  arrived  at  Cotton  Gin  Port,  they  went  to  Levi  Colbert's 
house.  Bell  had  preached  in  that  house  on  his  former  visit.  Col- 
bert was  eager  for  the  establishment  of  the  school,  and  to  have  it 
located  near  him.  He  assembled  the  king  and  chiefs  of  the  Nation 
at  his  house,  where  the  three  commissioners  of  the  Board  of  j\Iis- 
sions  of  Elk  Presbytery  entered  into  tre*aty  with  them.  The  com- 
missioners promised  instruction  in  mechanic  arts  and  agriculture, 
as  well  as  in  the  literary  course.  They  promised,  also,  within  the 
limits  of  their  ability,  to  teach,  board,  and  clothe  the  indigent 
gratuitously.  The  chiefs  promised  protection,  and  the  free  use  of 
land  for  cultivation.  This  treaty  was  signed  the  nth  of  Septem- 
ber, 1820,  the  names  of  the  white  commissioners  standing  on  the 
right  and  those  of  the  king  and  chiefs  on  the  left.  The  names 
affixed  to  this  agreement  are:  Robert  Bell,  Samuel  King,  and 
James  Stewart,  for  the  mission.  On  the  part  of  the  Indians  the 
names  are:  Shako  Tookey,  king  of  the  Nation;  Tisho  Mingo, 
Appa  Suntubba,  Samuel  Sealy,  William  McGalba,  James  Colbert, 
and  Levi  Colbert,  chiefs. 

Three  miles  below  Cotton  Gin  Port,  at  the  base  of  the  bluff, 
were  some  springs  of  pure  water.  This  spot  was  selected  for  the 
school.  It  is  seven  miles  from  what  is  now  the  town  of  x-^berdeen, 
Mississippi. 

At  the  same  time  that  the  Elk  Presbyter^'  was  taking  these 
steps  for  an  Indian  mission,  it  was  also  urging  upon  the  General 
Synod  the  propriety  of  having  a  board  of  missions  for  the  whole 
church.  Elk  Presbytery  was  not  alone  in  this  view  of  the  case. 
In  the  fall  of  1819,  at  the  meeting  of  the  synod,  it  was  resolved  to 
have  one  central  board,  and  to  make  all  the  others  tributary.  The 
arrangement  made  was  certainly  novel.  The  ladies'  missionar\' 
society  of  Logan  Presbytery,  without  ceasing  to  be  a  presbyterial 
society,  was  also  made  the  general  society  of  the  church,  and  all 
the  ministers  of  the  church  were  appointed  trustees.  Robert  Don- 
nell,  of  Elk  Presbyter}^  became  the  president  of  the  general  board 
at  Russell ville,  and  Bell's  mission  was  turned  over  to  this  board. 


Chapter  XV.]  KaRLY  MISSIONS  TO  THE  INDIANS.  I33 

The  antecedents  of  the  Russellville  board  deserve  a  passing 
notice.  In  September,  181 7,  H.  A.  Hunter,  of  Russellville,  Ken- 
tucky, professed  religion  at  Liberty  church,  near  Russellville.  His 
mother  also  became  concerned  about  her  soul.  The  young  con- 
vert, Hunter,  with  one  other  Christian  to  aid  him,  began  a  weekly 
prayer-meeting  in  his  father's  ball-room.  This  was  with  the  con- 
sent of  his  parents.  Then  the  Rev.  Finis  Ewing  and  the  Rev. 
William  Barnett'  came  and  held  a  meeting  in  that  ball-room. 
There  was  no  meeting-house  then  in  the  place.  The  town  had 
been  nick-named  "The  Devil's  Camp-ground."  This  meeting  in 
the  ball-room  was  greatly  blessed.  The  whole  town  was  revolu- 
tionized, and  several  of  the  converts  entered  the  holy  ministry.  At 
the  close  of  the  meeting  Finis  Ewing  organized  a  ladies'  mission- 
ary society  in  that  same  ball-room.^  By  request  of  the  ladies  of 
this  society,  the  Logan  Presbytery  ^  became  its  board  of  directors. 
After  the  action  in  18 19,  consolidating  the  missionary  work  of  the 
church,  this  society  had  two  boards  of  directors.  As  the  society  of 
Logan  Presbytery  it  had  the  ministers  of  that  presbytery  for  one  of 
these  boards;  as  the  general  missionary  society  of  the  church  it  had 
all  the  preachers  in  the  church  for  the  other.  Cumberland  Presby- 
terians had  no  chartered  board  of  missions  until  1845.  Men  even 
opposed  chartered  boards  as  savoring  of  Church  and  State. 

It  was  under  this  curiously  organized  society  that  Mr.  Bell's 
mission  was  placed  soon  after  the  school  began.  The  site  chosen 
for  Bell's  mission  was  in  a  beautiful  country;  but  in  the  early  set- 
tlements there  was  a  good  deal  of  sickness.  Bell  and  his  wife 
opened  their  school  in  the  fall  of  1820,  in  Levi  Colbert's  house, 
which  he  generously  tendered  for  that  purpose. 

Robert  Bell  was  one  of  "the  young  men"  (licentiates)  arraigned 
before  the  commissioners  in  1805.  A  memorial  for  his  ordination 
was  pending  when  his  presbytery  was  dissolved.  His  heroic  wife 
belonged  to  the  McCutcheon  family  of  Logan  County.  Bell  pro- 
fessed religion  at  McGready's  meeting,  September,  1800.  When 
he  felt  himself  called  to  preach  he  commenced  a  thorough  classical 

'  Dr.  Cossitt's  Life  and  Times  of  Ewing,  p.  253. 
^Medium,  1846,  p.  326. 
Minutes  of  Logan  Presbytery,  May,  1818. 


134  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.        [Period  ii. 

course  of  study;  but  under  the  heavy  pressure  of  calls  from  the  des- 
titute regions,  and  by  the  advice  of  the  old  preachers,  he  abandoned 
his  studies  and  took  the  circuit.  In  his  later  writings  he  expresses 
his  profound  conviction,  based  on  a  life-time  of  close  observation, 
that  it  would  have  been  better  for  him  to  have  completed  the  re- 
quired course  of  study.  Bell's  manuscript  autobiography  is  thor- 
oughly interesting.  He  was  living  in  Logan  County,  Kentucky, 
when  McGready's  great  meetings  began.  He  attended  every  one 
of  them.  His  account  of  the  commission  and  the  council  is  also 
deeply  interesting. 

Robert  Bell  was  the  grandfather  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  C.  H.  Bell,  so 
well  known  in  the  church  as  general  superintendent  of  missions. 
The  father  of  Dr.  C.  H.  Bell  superintended  the  erection  of  tempo- 
rary buildings  on  the  site  chosen  for  the  mission,  while  Robert  Bell 
and  his  wife  taught  temporarily  in  Colbert's  house.  In  four  weeks 
these  temporary  buildings  were  ready,  and  the  school  was  moved 
into  them. 

In  1823  the  Rev.  John  C.  Smith  and  his  wife  were  sent  to  assist 
in  the  mission.  With  a  variable  amount  of  hired  help  a  tan-yard 
was  built,  a  farm  cleared  and  fenced,  and  a  blacksmith  shop  and  a 
saddler's  shop  established.  Much  of  the  manual  labor  was  done 
by  the  missionary  himself  With  a  family  of  thirty  boarders,  Mrs. 
Bell  often  had  less,  never  more,  than  two  assistants  in  the  cooking 
and  washing  departments,  though  she  generally  had  some  ladies  to 
aid  her  in  the  work  of  teaching  the  girls  to  spin  and  weave. 

Government  aid,  under  a  general  regulation  of  the  United 
States,  was  secured  for  Bell's  mission.  The  United  States  was 
aiding  schools,  under  certain  restrictions,  in  all  the  Indian  tribes 
within  our  domains.  Often,  however,  rivalry  sprung  up  in  the 
struggles  of  different  churches  to  secure  this  aid.  It  was  thus  our 
first  bargain  for  a  school  among  the  Choctaws  was  lost,  and  thus 
other  far  darker  wrongs  blackened  the  annals  of  our  Indian  schools 
in  the  North-west.  Mr.  Bell's  mission  secured  government  aid  to 
the  amount  of  about  three  hundred  dollars  per  annum.  This  is 
the  average,  for  there  was  an  unaccountable  irregularity  both  in 
the  government  aid  and  also  in  the  contributions  sent  by  the  mis- 
sionary board.     The  latter  amounted,  in  1824,  to  over  a  thousand 


Chapter  XV.]         EaRLY  MISSIONS  TO  THE   INDIANS.  I35 

dollars,  but  sunk  to  $272  in  1826,  and  to  $142  in  1830.  Until  the 
last  two  years  of  the  mission's  life,  during  which  no  help  was  sent, 
the  annual  receipts  from  both  these  sources  ranged  between  $367, 
the  lowest,  up  to  $1,494,  the  highest.  The  average,  omitting  the 
two  years  just  mentioned,  was  $640.  Out  of  this  Mr.  Bell  paid  all 
his  assistants,  and  boarded,  taught,  and  clothed  gratuitously  an 
average  of  twenty  indigent  students  annually.  His  chief  reliance 
for  support  was  on  his  farm,  which  the  students  helped  him  to  cul- 
tivate. There  were  also  ten  or  twelve  students  who  paid  their  own 
way.  The  assistant  teachers  were  often  changed.  I  find  half  a 
dozen  persons  mentioned  at  one  time  or  another  as  assistants,  who 
had  grown  weary  of  the  hardships  and  the  poverty,  and  left  the 
institution;  but  Mr.  Bell  could  not  be  driven  away  by  hardships. 
If  his  meat  gave  out  he  mounted  his  horse,  rode  back  to  Tennes- 
see, and  begged  hogs  from  his  old  acquaintances,  and  drove  them 
himself  to  the  mission.  If  the  money  gave  out,  he  drew  on 
his  own  little  estate,  hoping  perhaps  to  be  repaid,  but  if  he  had 
such  hope,  he  had  to  wait  till  he  got  to  heaven  for  its  fulfillment. 
If  his  teachers  left  him,  he  put  his  son  and  daughter  in  their 
places,  and  doubled  his  own  labors  until  other  help  could  be  had. 
He  was  farmer,  preacher,  traveling  agent,  government  agent,  with 
orders  to  collect  information  in  philology,  Indian  archaeology,  In- 
dian traditions,  and  to  report  in  detail  on  the  ornithology,  zoolog>', 
and  all  the  other  "ologies"  of  the  land  he  lived  in. 

It  was  hard  enough  to  struggle  as  he  had  to  do,  without  hav- 
ing burdens  of  heart-ache  superadded  by  opposition  from  ministers 
of  his  own  church.  One  of  the  dark  backgrounds  to  every  beauti- 
ful picture  of  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  ministry  is  the  element 
of  opposition  to  foreign  missions  which  has  always  been  found 
among  the  preachers.  It  is  never  opposition  to  foreign  missions 
per  se^  but  opposition  on  the  plea  of  some  fancied  inexpediency. 
This  element  has  never  been  very  large,  but  it  exists  even  to-day 
in  all  its  mischievous  power.  It  is  no  native  growth.  Its  fitting 
home  is  with  the  Antinomians. 

At  the  close  of  the  late  civil  war,  while  the  South  was  still  a 
smoking  ruin  and  the  people  impoverished,  the  General  Assembly 
of  the  Southern  Presbyterian  church  had  one  man  who  raised  the 


136  CUMBERI.AND    PRESBYTERIAN    HiSTORY.  [Period  II. 

question  of  expediency  in  regard  to  foreign  missions.  Then  there 
rose  in  his  place  a  man  who  still  wore  his  army  suit  because  too 
poor  to  buy  any  other,  and  uttered  a  sentence  which  deserves  to 
be  written  in  gold.  He  said:  "To  debate  whether  we  shall  now 
undertake  missions  to  the  heathen  is  to  debate  whether  we  shall 
now  do  what  the  Lord  Jesus  told  us  to  do."  There  was  not 
another  voice  raised  in  that  Assembly  against  the  expediency  of 
foreign  missions. 

A  suggestive  history  showing  how  a  strong  man  was  cured  of  his 
opposition  to  Bell's  mission  is  found  in  a  letter  written  by  the  Rev. 
Thomas  Calhoun.  This  man  was  the  Rev.  William  Barnett.  The 
missionary  society  fell  upon  the  expedient  of  sendingliim  to  inspect 
the  mission  for  them,  and  report  its  condition.  He  accepted  the 
appointment,  and  made  his  tour  of  inspection.  Mr.  Bell  showed 
him  all  the  exercises  of  the  school,  and  had  the  children  sing  for 
him.  This  completely  won  him,  and  from  that  day  onward  the 
mission  had  no  warmer  friend  than  William  Barnett.  It  would  be 
well  if  all  opposers  of  foreign  missions  could  be  brought  into  con- 
tact with  those  who  are  now  laboring  among  the  heathen,  and  see 
the  fruit  of  missionary  work.  There  were  at  least  half  a  dozen 
cases  of  opposition  to  Bell's  mission  cured  by  visiting  the  insti- 
tution. Opposition  to  missions,  by  good  men,  only  needs  to  have 
the  light  shine  on  it,  and  it  dies. 

There  is  another  interesting  case.  The  Rev.  William  Moore, 
who  was  one  of  the  first  advocates  of  a  mission  school,  removed, 
before  Bell's  school  was  established,  to  South  Alabama,  where  at 
that  time  we  had  no  organized  churches.  A  few  families  of  Cum- 
berland Presbyterian  immigrants  were  scattered  in  the  vast  whirl- 
pool of  new  settlers  from  different  countries,  like  Virgil's  wrecked 
Trojans  in  the  boiling  waves  of  the  ocean.'  He  wrote  to  Mr.  Bell 
that  he  could  do  nothing  in  that  new  field  for  the  mission.  ]\Ir. 
Bell  made  a  vigorous  presentation  of  the  laws  of  success  in  home 
work,  and  their  relations  to  a  faithful  discharge  of  our  duties  to  the 
heathen;  and  Mr.  Moore  became  a  regular  contributor  himself,  and 
collected  money  also  from  that  pioneer  people  for  Bell's  mission. 

Among  Mr.  Bell's  papers  are  letters  from  nearly  all  the  minis- 

' "  Rari  nantes  in  gurgite  vasto." 


Chapter  XV.]  EaRLY   MISSIONS  TO  THE   INDIANS.  I37 

ters  who  belonged  to  the  synod  at  that  day.  Bell's  correspondence 
with  the  Hon.  John  C.  Calhoun,  Secretary  of  War,  is  in  these  files. 
A  copy  of  a  letter  from  the  Indian  chief,  Levi  Colbert,  is  here 
given : 

Chickasaw  Nation,  September  25,   1S23. 
Friend  and  Brother  of  the  Cumberland   Missionary  Board: 

I  suppose  you  wish  to  know  what  the  people  of  this  Nation  think 
of  your  missionary  school,  and  what  encouragement  they  seem  disposed 
to  give  it.  They  talk  favorably  of  the  school,  and  are  well  satisfied 
with  the  manner  in  which  it  has  been  conducted.  They  wish  it  to  be 
continued  and  carried  into  full  operation,  so  that  our  poor  people  who 
are  not  able  to  board  their  children  can  have  them  educated.  The 
more  wealthy  part  of  our  Nation  will  give  some  assistance.  ...  I  have 
talked  to  the  chiefs  in  council  two  or  three  times,  and  have  met  but  little 
opposition.  .  .  .  We  want  our  Nation  to  be  enlightened,  and  to  under- 
stand that  gospel  which  you  missionaries  preach,  and  we  wish  all  our 
good  friends  among  the  white  people  to  pray  for  us. 
I  am  your  sincere  friend, 

Levi  Colbert. 

Mr.  Bell,  like  all  our  first  preachers,  considered  camp-meetings 
an  indispensable  part  of  the  church  machinery.  We  are  not  sur- 
prised, therefore,  at  finding  annual  camp-meetings  at  the  mission 
mentioned  in  these  records.  Among  the  names  of  men  who  assisted 
in  these  meetings  I  find  Alexander  Chapman,  David  Foster,  James 
S.  Guthrie,  James  Stewart,  and  William  Barnett.  At  one  of  the 
camp-meetings  held  at  Bell's  Mission  Station  was  a  convert  whose 
name  afterward  became  a  household  word  in  West  Tennessee.  I 
mean  the  Rev.  Israel  S.  Pickens.  He  and  his  wife  had  been  em- 
ployed to  assist  in  the  establishment.  Several  of  the  Pickens  fam- 
ily had,  from  time  to  time,  been  employed  as  assistants  in  some  of 
the  many  departments  of  work  about  the  mission,  and  thus  it  came 
about  that  Israel  Pickens  was  at  one  of  the  camp-meetings. 

Some  extracts  from  Mrs.  Bell's  diary  will  now  be  given.  The 
first  is  for  1823: 

June  II. — Mr.  Blair  left  us  this  morning  on  his  way  to  Florence, 
after  supplies  for  the  use  of  the  school. 

June  14. — Received  a  letter  from  the  sub-agency  of  this  Nation  in- 
forming us  that  the  United  States  government  had  appropriated  the 
sum  of  four  hundred  dollars  for  this  institution  this  year,  for  the  pay- 


138  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.        [Period  11. 

ment  of  the  tuition  of  poor  children;  also  informing  us  that  five  hun- 
dred dollars  had  been  sent  us  last  year,  of  which  we  never  before  heard. 
This  was  owing  to  the  absence  of  the  agent.  We  humbly  trust  that 
this  assistance,  when  obtained,  will  enable  us  to  bring  a  number  more 
of  these  poor  destitute  heathen  to  a  knowledge  of  the  gospel. 

June  15. — Mr.  Smith,  with  most  of  the  mission  family,  crossed  the 
river  to  preach  to  the  white  people,  just  on  the  margin  of  a  Christian 
land,  where  we  had  the  inestimable  privilege  of  worshiping  God 
along  with  a  respectable  congregation. 

It  must  have  been  sweet,  after  so  long  a  time  spent  with  unciv- 
ilized heathen,  to  meet  a  congregation  of  at  least  nominal  Chris- 
tians; but  Mrs.  Bell  and  the  mission  family  were  just  as  eager  to 
attend  meetings  among  the  red  men. 

She  says,  in  another  place: 

Mr.  Smith  preached  at  Cotton  Gin  Port  to-day,  from  Matt.  xvi.  26. 
There  was  a  good  audience,  and  they  gave  uncommonly  good  attention. 
Two  of  our  scholars  left  the  station  to-day  without  leave,  or  any  known 
cause.  We  suppose  they  have  gone  home  to  see  their  friends.  They 
have  been  but  a  short  time  in  school,  and  were  greatly  attached  to  their 
old  habits. 

June  20. — Attended  to  our  weekly  examination,  which  was  satisfac- 
tory. The  exercise  in  vocal  music  made  us  hope  for  the  day  when 
Indian  congregations,  instead  of  engaging  in  war  songs  and  supersti- 
tious dances,  will  join  in  singing  the  songs  of  Zion. 

June  21. — Received  a  letter  from  Mr.  Bell,  dated  Limestone  County, 
Alabama.  He  is  well,  and  has  encouraging  success  in  raising  funds  for 
the  mission. 

Thus  often  did  the  missionary  have  to  leave  his  work  and  go 
out  to  raise  funds. 

June  22. — For  lack  of  an  interpreter,  Mr.  Smith  was  prevented  from 
filling  his  appointment  to-day  at  Mr.  James  Wolf's,  three  miles  distant. 

Complaint  about  the  great  difficulty  in  securing  regular  and 
persevering  attendance  comes  up  in  all  Mr.  Bell's  reports,  as  it  does 
in  all  the  accounts  which  I  ever  saw  of  schools  for  Indians.  The 
wild,  free  sons  of  the  forest  will  not  be  bound  down  to  hard  study. 
They  can  learn  well  enough  while  they  are  at  it,  but  the)'  will  not 
stick  to  their  task.  Of  the  twenty  Indians  sent  to  Cumberland 
University  during  my  connection  with  that  institution,  only  one 
was  graduated   and  he  only  in  the  scientific  course. 


Chapter  XV.]         EARI.Y  MISSIONS  TO  THK  INDIANS.  I39 

June  26. — Mr.  Smith  saw  four  white  men  on  their  way  to  see  a 
dance  among  the  Indians.  These  white  men  were  all  drinking,  and 
some  of  them  were  already  drunk.  It  is  bad  enough  for  white  people 
to  encourage  the  superstitious  dances  of  the  Indians,  but  to  carry  drunk- 
enness among  them  is  too  bad.  It  is  this  which  makes  the  chief  obstacle 
to  the  success  of  missions. 

July  16. — We  were  visited  to-day  by  Colonel  G ,  who  has  been 

bitterly  opposed  to  our  mission.  The  children  read  and  sang  for  him. 
He  is  completely  won  over.  O  that  all  our  people  who  oppose  the 
mission  would  make  us  a  visit! 

The  mission  boarded,  taught,  and  clothed  the  pupils.  Over 
half  of  these  were  charged  no  fees  at  all,  they  being  too  poor  to 
pay.  By  order  of  the  board  the  free  list  was  limited  to  twenty. 
The  school  usually  numbered  thirty-five.  A  touching  case  is  given 
in  Mrs.  Bell's  diary  of  two  bright  Indian  children  below  the  regu- 
lation age,  who  were  brought  to  the  school  by  their  parents.  They 
were  very  poor.  The  school  was  overtaxed  and  oppressed  by  the 
number  of  beneficiary  pupils,  which  was  already  two  more  than 
the  board's  limit.  But  these  naked  children  of  the  forest  were 
specially  bright,  and  Mrs.  Bell  determined  to  take  them. 

The  hardships  and  sufferings  of  these  missionaries  were  equal 
to  any  borne  by  missionaries  to  distant  heathen  lands.  Often  the 
money  sent  the  mission  was  so  greatly  under  par  that  it  was  diffi- 
cult to  use  it.  Mr.  Bell,  besides  all  his  other  labors,  cultivated  a 
considerable  farm,  and  in  this  way  helped  to  keep  the  establish- 
ment from  starving.  Many  of  the  Indians  who  paid  either  all  or 
part  of  their  boarding,  paid  in  cattle,  and  the  supply  of  milk  was 
largely  depended  on  as  a  means  of  support.  The  contributions 
from  the  churches  were  a  curious  medley.  Cotton  cloth  was  a 
chief  item.  Raw  cotton,  beeves,  socks,  flax  cloth,  and  jeans  v/ere 
also  among  the  contributions. 

At  different  times  persons  sent  by  the  missionary  board  to  visit 
the  mission  made  stirring  reports  of  the  hardships  and  privations 
suffered  by  the  missionaries.  At  no  time  was  there  a  sufficient 
supply  of  either  money,  clothing,  or  provisions  sent  to  them.  The 
Rev.  David  Foster  and  the  Rev.  James  S.  Guthrie,  after  a  visit  to 
this  mission,  wrote  to  the  board  as  follows: 

Mr.  and   Mrs.  Bell  have  more  labor  of  different  kinds  than   their 


140  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.        [Period  11. 

strength  can  stand,  and  unless  they  have  in  future  some  assistance  their 
days  must  be  shortened. 

An  extract  from  Mrs.  Bell's  journal  will  show  how  painful  it 
was  to  the  missionaries  to  reject  the  applications  of  the  destitute: 

January  4,  1S23. — Mr.  Pitchland  has  visited  us  again  this  day,  solic- 
iting us  to  take  under  our  care  another  little  son,  ....  but  we  were 
obliged  to  turn  him  oft';  and,  with  hearts  full  of  regret,  we  informed 
him  that  we  were  obliged  to  circumscribe  our  wishes  for  want  of  funds 
to  furnish  the  necessary  support. 

It  was  the  custom  of  Mr.  Bell  and  his  assistants,  one  of  whom 
was  always  a  preacher,  to  go  out  into  the  Indian  country  and 
preach.  Levi  Colbert,  the  chief  already  mentioned,  opened  his 
house  on  such  occasions  as  a  preaching  place. 

Regular  quarterly  reports  of  the  work  done  by  this  mission 
were  sent  to  the  missionary  board.  The  average  number  taught 
per  session  was  about  thirty-five.  The  programme  for  daily  duties 
in  the  mission  was  reported  to  the  board.     It  was  as  follows: 

At  daylight  the  trumpet  is  blown,  the  signal  for  all  to  rise.  In  half 
an  hour  it  is  blown  again,  the  signal  for  family  worship,  which  all, 
black,  white,  and  red,  are  to  attend  in  the  dining-room.  After  worship 
Mr.  Bell  and  the  boys  go  to  the  farm  and  Mrs.  Bell  and  the  girls  to 
spinning  and  w^eaving.  At  eight  o'clock  comes  breakfast:  then  come 
school  hours  till  twelve;  then  an  hour's  interval  for  dinner  and  rest; 
school  again  from  one  till  four;  then  labor  in  field  and  loom  till  six; 
then  supper  and  worship.  All  the  students  share  alike  in  the  manual 
labor,  which  amounts,  in  summer,  to  four  hours  daily. 

Manual  labor  schools  for  white  people  as  well  as  for  Indians  had 
jtist  come  into  fashion. 

Two  or  three  years  before  the  purchase  of  this  countr}-  from  the 
Indians  its  cession  to  the  whites  was  agitated  to  an  extent  that 
seriously  interfered  with  the  mission.  Then  came  the  startling 
tidings  that  the  chiefs  had  signed  a  treaty  with  the  United  States 
government  agreeing  to  vacate  all  the  soil  of  Mississippi.  Although 
the  promised  exodus  from  the  State  dragged  its  reluctant  fulfill- 
ment through  many  bitter  years,  yet  even  the  prospect  of  a  treaty 
two  years  before  its  ratification  terminated  all  aid  for  the  mission, 
both  from  government  and  church. 

Mr.  Bell  tried  for  two  years  to  carry  on  the  school  without  aid, 


Chapter  XV.]  EaRLY  MISSIONS  TO  THE   INDIANS.  I4I 

relying  on  the  farm,  tuition  fees,  and  his  own  private  funds  for 
support;  but  the  excitement  among  the  Indians  over  the  sale  of 
their  country,  and  the  clamor  of  government  agents  who  were 
struggling  to  remove  the  Indians,  made  it  absolutely  necessary  to 
close  the  mission.  Mr.  Bell's  final  settlement  with  the  board  was 
made  in  1832,  but  he  remained  in  the  same  country  the  rest  of  his 
days,  preaching  to  the  white  people.  The  fruits  of  this  mission 
are  abundant  to-day  among  the  Indians  of  the  West,  as  well  as 
among  the  redeemed  in  glory.  As  the  second  period  of  this  his- 
tory extends  only  to  1829,  ^^^  further  discussion  of  the  church's 
work  among  the  Indians  belongs  to  a  later  chapter.  A  noble  bio- 
graphical sketch  of  Mr.  Bell  has  been  published  by  Dr.  Beard,  to 
which  sketch  the  reader  is  referred.  It  is  evident,  however,  that 
Dr.  Beard  never  saw  Mr.  Bell's  autobiography.  It  is  in  manuscript 
and  will  be  placed  in  the  Cumberland  University  library.  It  de- 
serves to  be  published. 


142  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.        [Period  ii. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 


PLANTING  CHURCHES  IN  THE  NEW  TERRITORIES  OF 
EAST  AND  WEST  TENNESSEE  AND  THE  KENTUCKY 
PURCHASE. 

Far  off  on  the  desert  mountains 

To  wandering  souls  it  came, 
That  sound  of  a  tender  message, 

That  pleading  in  Christ's  name; 
It  followed  the  sorrowful  path  thej  trod. 
Till  the  wandering  spirits  were  turned  to  God. 

—A.  A. 

IN  the  very  States  where  the  church  originated  there  were  new 
fields  opened  to  white  settlers  after  the  church  was  organized. 
These  were  the  Hiwassee  Purchase,  in  East  Tennessee,  all  of  what 
is  now  called  West  Tennessee,  and  all  that  portion  of  Kentucky 
lying  west  of  the  Tennessee  River.  All  of  East  Tennessee  up  to 
1815  was  unbroken  soil,  so  far  as  our  people  were  concerned.  Long 
before  our  evangelists  went  to  this  field  pressing  demands  for  the 
revival  preachers  to  visit  East  Tennessee  had  been  made.  Early 
in  1800  visitors  to  the  camp-meetings  had  carried  the  revival  spirit 
over  the  mountains  and  spread  it  among  the  churches.  Opposition 
arose  there,  as  it  did  in  McGready'3  field.  The  ministry-  were 
divided  there  too  on  the  revival  question.  The  doctrine  of  a  gen- 
eral atonement  began  to  stir  the  Presbyterian  churches  there  also. 
The  cr}'  for  more  preachers  rang  through  those  mountains  as  it 
had  rung  along  the  banks  of  the  Cumberland.  From  Mr.  McMul- 
len's  MS.  we  learn  that  all  the  presbyteries  of  East  Tennessee  were 
stirred  on  the  question,  "Did  Christ  die  for  ever}-body?"  The 
revival  awakened  that  question  wherever  it  entered  Presbyterian 
communities.  The  cr>^  for  more  preachers  also  arose  wherever  the 
revival  went.  This,  while  historically  a  fact,  was  also  a  logical 
consequence.  Itinerant  preaching  also  followed  wherever  the 
revival  entered  new  settlements. 


Chapter  XVI.]  EaST  AND  WEST  TENNESSEE.  1 43 

The  outcry  against  disorder  in  church  was  raised  by  the  Old 
Side  party  in  East  Tennessee,  as  it  had  been  in  Cumberland.  Dr. 
Henderson  led  one  party  and  Dr.  Blackburn  the  other.  But  justice 
to  Dr.  Henderson  requires  me  to  state  that  his  opposition  to  the 
revival  never  went  to  such  extremes,  nor  resorted  to  such  eccle- 
siastical violence  as  characterized  the  anti-revival  party  in  the  Ken- 
tucky Synod. 

We  have  preserv^ed  to  us  a  letter  of  remonstrance  written  by 
Mr.  McGready  to  his  Old  *^ide  brethren  in  East  Tennessee.  He 
says: 

Tell  my  brethren  to  let  the  Lord  choose  his  own  way  of  working; 
to  bid  the  Spirit  of  God  welcome,  even  though  he  should  choose  to 
work  among  them  as  he  does  among  the  Methodists.  Tell  them  to  be 
more  afraid  of  sinners  being  damned  for  want  of  religion,  than  of  what 
they  call  disorder  when  sinners  cry  out  for  mercy. 

Before  our  church  sent  any  evangelists  into  East  Tennessee,  an 
ecclesiastical  barrier  was  interposed  between  them  and  even  the 
revival  party  of  that  country.  The  Presbyterian  church  had  for- 
bidden its  clergy  recognizing  as  ministers  any  of  the  Cumberland 
Presbyterian  preachers,  and  had  also  forbidden  its  members  com- 
muning with  the  members  of  our  church  at  the  Lord's  table. 
Therefore  our  first  missionaries  there  had  to  encounter  the  open 
opposition  of  one  party  and  the  lack  of  co-operation  from  the 
other.  Our  first  evangelists  in  that  field  were  Thomas  Calhoun 
and  Robert  Donnell.  The  published  dates  of  this  first  mission  to 
East  Tennessee  are  all  wrong.  I  have  before  me  Calhoun's  writ- 
ten history  of  it,  and  I  also  have  Robert  Donnell' s  diary,  kept 
throughout  that  whole  tour.  That  diary  says:  "Through  the 
mercy  of  God  we  met  in  McMinnville,  Tennessee,  the  last  day  of 
June,  1815,  according  to  agreement. " 

They  began  their  meetings  in  Sequatchie  Valley  first,  where 
they  had  good  success;  and  then  they  crossed  the  mountains  to  the 
field  which  they  had  chosen.  Their  first  work  was  at  Washineton. 
Then  they  went  into  the  Hiwassee  country,  though  Indians  still 
occupied  large  portions  thereof.  They  next  visited  Morganton 
and  Maryville.  They  expected  to  preach  in  the  Presbyterian 
church  at  Maryville,  as  its  pastor,  Dr.  Anderson,  was  one  of  the 


144  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.        [Period  ii. 

revival  party.  They  had  sent  their  appointment  to  him,  but  the 
ecclesiastical  interdict  was  not  to  be  trampled  on.  When  they 
entered  the  church,  though  a  little  in  advance  of  the  preaching 
hour.  Dr.  Anderson  was  up  preaching.  At  the  close  of  his  sermon 
he  called  on  Donnell  to  conclude.  "Donnell  gave  an  exhortation 
which  set  the  house  on  fire."'  The  soberest  of  Dr.  Anderson's 
members,  and  even  his  elders,  went  to  shouting.  The  people  rose 
to  their  feet  and  crowded  around  Donnell,  begging  him  to  stay  and 
protract  the  meeting.  Dr.  Anderson  took  the  evangelists  home 
with  him  to  dinner.  At  the  table  he  said,  "The  Methodists  (!) 
gave  Mr.  Donnell  a  very  hearty  welcome  to-day."  The  evangel- 
ists then  left  an  appointment  for  a  meeting  to  be  held  at  the  sem- 
inary, and  went  to  some  of  Dr.  Blackburn's  churches,  where  they 
were  kindly  received.  The  doctrines  they  preached  were  indorsed 
by  Dr.  Blackburn's  members,  and  his  congregations  received  some 
valuable  accessions.  No  effort  was  made  to  take  advantage  of  his 
courtesy  by  organizing  a  Cumberland  Presbyterian  church.  Then 
they  returned  to  Maryville  and  held  their  meeting  in  the  seminar^'. 
Dr.  Anderson  not  only  attended  that  meeting,  but  followed  them 
to  one  they  held  in  the  country.  At  the  country-  meeting  Don- 
nell's  sermons  set  the  people  to  shouting,  old  Presbyterian  elders 
being  the  chief  performers.  Dr.  Anderson  caught  the  fire  and 
leaped  over  rigid  boundaries  for  a  moment,  but,  recollecting  him- 
self, he  returned  to  the  order  required  by  his  church.  Thus  the 
evangelists  went  on  through  all  of  East  Tennessee,  helping  to 
build  up  the  congregations  of  the  revival  party,  but  refusing  in  all 
cases  throughout  that  tour  to  organize  any  Cumberland  Presbyte- 
rian church.  They  held  a  meeting  in  a  grove  near  Kingston, 
and  there  Calhoun  was  taken  sick.     Thus  ended  this  campaign. 

The  next  year  an  unconverted  man  by  the  name  of  Miller  came 
all  the  way  from  East  Tennessee  to  Smyrna  church,  Jackson 
County,  Tennessee,  to  beg  Calhoun  to  make  another  visit  to  his 
country.  Calhoun  gave  him  a  long  list  of  appointments.  One 
of  these  was  at  the  Indian  town  named  Calhoun.  Another  w^as  at 
the  Indian  agency,  now  Athens.  In  this  trip  Calhoun  met  with, 
and  preached  to,  W.  C.  McKaniy,  who  afterward  became  a  ver>' 

'The  Calhoun  papers. 


Chapter  XVI.]  EaST   AND  WEST  TENNESSEE.  145 

efficient  minister.  All  through  East  Tennessee  the  solitary  evan- 
gelist went,  preaching  where  Miller  had  previously  published  his 
appointments. 

The  next  account  we  have  of  preaching  in  East  Tennessee  by 
our  people  is  in  the  records  of  Nashville  Presbytery,  spring  of 
1 8 18,  in  which  David  Foster  is  ordered  to  a  regular  circuit  in  East 
Tennessee,  to  spend  his  whole  time  there  till  the  next  meeting  of 
the  presbytery.  He  complied  with  the  order.  In  1821  J.  S.  Guth- 
rie was  sent  to  the  Hiwassee  circuit.  It  is  to  be  regretted  that  we 
have  none  of  the  details  of  these  two  tours  of  evangelism,  but 
what  we  know  about  the  two  noble  evangelists  leaves  us  no  room  to 
doubt  that  their  work  in  East  Tennessee,  as  in  all  the  other  places 
where  they  labored,  was  abundantly  fruitful.  The  language  used 
by  the  presbytery  in  Foster's  and  Guthrie's  appointment  to  this 
field  would  indicate  known  and  established  circuits,  on  which 
former  missionaries  had  labored.  It  is  quite  likely  that  evangelists 
were  sent  thither  the  next  year  after  Calhoun's  voluntary  mission  . 
(18 16),  or  that  such  evangelists  went  voluntarily  to  that  field,  but 
if  this  is  so  we  have  no  record  of  the  fact. 

J.  S.  Guthrie  was  a  "rough  ashlar,"  just  out  of  nature's  quarr}^, 
but  he  had  an  intellect  full  of  native  vigor,  and  was  well  versed  in 
Scripture  and  in  the  doctrines  of  his  church.  His  work  was 
everywhere  owned  of  God,  and  its  results  still  abide.  All  the 
numerous  anecdotes  about  Guthrie  have  something  ludicrous 
mixed  with  an  awful  solemnity.  He  was  continued  in  East  Ten- 
nessee till  1823. 

The  same  year  Robert  Baker  and  Abner  Lansden,  two  men 
like  minded,  both  sweet  spirits,  were  sent  to  that  country.  In 
1824  George  Donnell  and  S.  M.  Aston  were  also  sent  thither,  and 
for  many  long  years  these  two  noble  spirits  preached  Jesus  in  that 
field.  They  were  very  unlike  in  many  things,  yet  they  were 
deeply  devoted  to  each  other.  We  have  a  grand  biography  of 
George  Donnell,  written  by  President  T.  C.  Anderson.  It  would 
be  an  effort  "to  paint  the  rose"  should  I  try  to  add  to  that  truth- 
ful picture  ;  but  we  have  no  biography  of  his  noble  fellow-laborer. 
S.  M.  Aston  was  a  strong  thinker,  outspoken,  independent,  rather 
blunt  in  his  utterances,  fearless,  and  fully  persuaded  that  God  was 
10 


146  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.        [Period  11. 

with  him.  While  Donnell  could  make  the  people  weep  and  win 
the  enemies'  hearts,  Aston  could  wield  strong  arguments  that  would 
convince  the  gainsayers.  Abner  W.  Lansden  was  often  sent  to 
this  field.  Once  S.  Y.  Thomas  was  sent  to  assist  in  this  work. 
All  these  were  then  young  men  and  not  ordained.  The  anti- 
revival  party  of  the  Presbyterian  church  mocked  at  their  youth, 
their  homespun  clothing,  and  their  lack  of  classical  education ;  yet 
these  }'oung  men  gradually  made  their  way,  winning  the  hearts 
and  confidence  of  even  the  Old  Side  party. 

One  little  sketch,  taken  from  President  Anderson's  excellent 
biography  of  George  Donnell,  is  here  given  to  illustrate  how  these 
' '  boys ' '  overcame  prej  udice : ' 

You  may  have  some  idea  of  our  meeting  if  you  will  fancy  yourself 
looking  over  the  weeping  congregation,  and  beholding  here  an  Old 
School  man  on  his  knees  bending  over  four  children,  all  come  to  years 
of  maturity,  and  all  crying  for  mercy;  and  there  an  old  gray-headed 
sire,  with  streaming  eyes,  in  great  agony  for  a  whole  family  of  children; 
and  yonder  a  mother  in  Israel  on  her  knees,  bending  over  a  husband 
and  four  grown  children,  all  unconverted. 

The  meeting  here  alluded  to  was  held  in  the  midst  of  an  Old 
Side  community,  and  these  parents  were  Old  Side  in  their  anteced- 
ents. But  their  prejudices  were  swept  away  when  all  their  chil- 
dren found  Jesus  and  salvation. 

Many  Presbyterians  offered  their  private  dwellings  for  these 
missionaries  to  preach  in.  One  case  of  this  kind  deserves  special 
notice.  Thomas  Gallagher  was  an  elder  in  the  Presbyterian  church, 
and  had  a  son  who  was  a  faithful  minister  in  that  church.  Yet 
he,  like  many  others,  offered  the  use  of  his  house  to  George  Don- 
nell for  regular  circuit  appointments.  Four  of  Mr.  Gallagher's 
children  afterward  claimed  George  Donnell  as  their  spiritual  father. 
Thus  the  Lord  compensated  the  old  elder  for  his  liberality  to  a 
youthful  missionary  of  a  proscribed  church. 

There  are  many  accounts  of  bitter  prejudice  against  the  mis- 
sionaries among  those  belonging  to  the  Old  Side  party  in  that  day, 
but  it  is  a  source  of  great  comfort  to  know  that  no  such  prejudice 
is  to  be  encountered  in  that  country  now.     In  a  long  preaching 


'Life  of  George  Donnell,  pp.  190,  191. 


Chapter  XVI.]  EaST   AND  WEST   TENNESSEE.  147 

tour  among  the  people  of  East  Tennessee  a  few  years  ago,  I  met 
nothing  but  kindness  and  co-operation  from  the  ministry  of  the 
Presbyterian  church. 

The  first  camp-meeting  which  our  people  held  in  East  Tennes- 
see was  at  Low's  Ferry,  in  1823.  The  second  was  at  a  spot  long 
ago  endeared  to  a  thousand  hearts.  This  meeting  was  held  in 
1824,  ^t  Concord,  in  Knox  County,  by  the  missionaries,  assisted 
by  two  of  the  old  men  who  came  across  the  mountains  for  this  pur- 
pose. These  old  men  were  Thomas  Calhoun  and  Samuel  McSped- 
din,  and  along  with  them  came  Robert  Baker.  The  meeting  was 
a  great  victory,  and  laid  the  foundation  for  several  churches. 

In  1826  a  curious  spectacle  greets  us.  The  Lebanon  Presbytery 
crossed  the  mountains  and  held  its  meeting  in  a  private  house 
belonging  to  Mr.  Cowan,  in  Grassy  Valley,  East  Tennessee.  This 
fact  indicates  the  deep  interest  felt  for  that  field,  and  will  do  so  all 
the  more  when  we  remember  that  "horseback"  was  the  only 
mode  of  travel. 

The  next  year-  (1827)  Knoxville  Presbytery  was  organized. 
Its  original  members  were  George  Donnell,  S.  M.  Aston,  Abner  W. 
Lansden,  and  William  Smith.  These  four  men  were  our  minis- 
ters in  that  field  till  about  the  close  of  this  period,  when  another 
noble  band  took  their  places. 

It  ought  to  bring  a  blush  to  the  cheeks  of  East  Tennesseins  even 
to  this  day  to  know  how  poorly  all  these  early  missionaries  were 
paid.  That  George  Donnell  should  be  laughed  at  for  his  home- 
spun coat,  worn  out  at  the  elbows,  is  no  credit  to  our  people, 
especially  when  we  remember  how  unspeakably  precious  the  labors 
of  this  man  of  God  were.  In  a  MS.  history  of  the  Presbyterian 
church  in  East  Tennessee  I  find  the  same  kind  of  bitter  com- 
plaints. These  early  preachers  were  not  paid.  Great  improve- 
ment has  been  made  in  this  respect,  but  there  is  room  for  vet 
further  progress.  Nor  is  East  Tennessee  the  only  field  needing 
such  improvement. 

In  Thomas  Calhoun's  manuscripts  are  several  glimpses  at  the 
hard  life  which  pioneer  preachers  encountered  in  East  Tennessee. 
Once  in  his  journey  he  stayed  all  night  at  the  house  of  a  preacher. 
There  were  cracks  or  openings   between  the  logs  of  the  cabin 


148  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.        [Period  11. 

through,  which  the  hogs  passed  in  and  out  with  uninterrupted  free- 
dom. Often  his  meals  consisted  of  nothing  but  hominy.  Bridges 
and  ferry-boats  were  a  luxury  reserved  for  the  great  thoroughfares 
or  for  later  times.  Swimming  rivers  was  a  pastime  whose  attrac- 
tions would  meet  small  appreciation  in  our  day. 

In  Hugh  Kirkpatrick's  manuscripts  he  speaks  of  his  feet  being 
frost-bitten  in  one  of  his  preaching  tours.  His  meetings  were 
eminently  successful.  At  a  camp-meeting  held  by  him  in  East 
Tennessee  there  were  two  hundred  conversions.  In  such  a  sparse 
population  that  was  a  great  number.  He  says  of  this  meeting: 
"We  worked  up  all  the  material." 

The  country  west  of  the  Tennessee  River  was  bought  from 
the  Indians  in  1819.  It  was  settled  very  rapidly.  Many  Cum- 
berland Presbyterians  were  among  its  pioneers.  An  anecdote  of 
the  Rev.  N.  I.  Hess,  a  Cumberland  Presbyterian  minister,  who  had 
explored  all  of  West  Tennessee  before  it  was  bought  from  the 
Indians,  is  here  given.  When  the  friends  of  the  Mobile  and  Ohio 
Railroad  were  making  a  canvass  to  secure  subscriptions  to  its  stock 
they  employed  two  orators,  one  a  distinguished  congressman  and 
the  other  Mr.  Hess.  At  each  barbecue  Hess  would  tell  some  inci- 
dent of  his  early  travels  and  adventures  in  that  very  neighborhood 
before  the  country  belonged  to  white  men,  and  would  so  adroitly 
use  it  as  to  leave  the  congressman  clear  behind  in  popularity. 
The  congressman  chafed  at  this  and  resolved  on  a  remedy.  He 
detenuined  to  transfer  their  canvass  to  the  other  side  of  their  field, 
where,  he  supposed,  the  pioneer  tours  of  Hess  had  not  extended. 
The  plan  was  agreed  to  and  a  barbecue  was  prepared  at  a  big 
spring  on  the  other  side  of  the  district.  The  congressman 
spoke  first,  and  being  confident  of  victory  he  made  a  great  effort. 
When  Hess  arose  his  first  sentence  was,  "Just  forty  years  ago,  in 
company  with  two  red  men  of  the  forest,  I  drank  water  out  of  that 
spring;"  and  then,  with  more  than  his  wonted  felicity,  he  painted 
the  wonderful  progress  and  grander  destiny  of  West  Tennessee. 

The  Nashville  Presbytery  established  circuits  in  West  Tennes- 
see just  as  soon  as  that  country  was  settled  by  white  people.  The 
first  itinerants  sent  thither  were  John  L.  Dillard  and  James  INIcDon- 
nold,  and  they  began  their  work  in  1820,  less  than  a  year  after 


Chapter  XVI.]  EaST  AND  WEST  TENNESSEE.  I49 

the  purchase  of  the  country  from  the  Indians.  In  182 1  Richard 
Beard  was  sent,  to  the  ' '  Forked  Deer ' '  circuit.  Dr.  Beard,  to  his 
dying  day,  loved  to  talk  about  his  experience  on  this  circuit. 
There  were  no  bridges.  The  country  is  flat  and  its  water-courses 
spread  for  miles  over  the  bottoms  in  the  rainy  seasons.  Some  of 
these  bottoms  are  three  miles  wide,  with  sloughs  at  intervals  over 
all  their  extent.  When  the  water  covered  all  the  bottom  there 
were  stakes  or  blazed  trees  to  indicate  where  the  road  was. 
Between  these  stakes,  in  water  often  coming  up  to  the  horse's 
sides,  the  missionary  would  make  his  way  until  a  deep  slough  was 
reached,  into  which  he  plunged  without  warning,  and  across  which 
the  horse  had  to  swim.  Nor  were  water-courses  the  only  difficulty. 
There  were  quicksands.  A  crust  over  these  would  bear  a  horse 
safely  one  time,  and  perhaps  the  next  trip  the  crust  would  break, 
and  horse  and  rider  would  then  be  fortunate  if  they  ever  got  out 
alive.  Besides  all  this,  a  large  part  of  the  pioneer  population  was 
shaking  with  the  ague.  The  missionaries  shared  in  this  affliction, 
but  were  not  thereby  kept  from  filling  their  appointments. 

Robert  Baker,  J.  S.  Guthrie,  and  J.  W.  Rea  (1823)  were  also 
sent  by  the  Nashville  Presbytery  to  this  land  of  cypress  knees  and 
quicksands.  Thomas  Calhoun  made  a  brief  tour  through  this 
region  on  his  own  responsibility,  and  was  so  delighted  with  the 
country  that  he  determined  to  make  it  his  home.  He  secured  a 
tract  of  land  for  this  purpose,  but  finding  his  congregations  arrayed 
against  his  removal,  he  sold  his  West  Tennessee  land,  and  never 
again  tried  to  leave  his  first  field  of  labor. 

Camp-meetings  came,  of  course.  Other  preachers  besides  Cal- 
houn bought  lands  in  this  splendid  cotton  delta,  and  were  not  dis- 
suaded from  settling  on  them.  At  Robert  Baker's  camp-ground. 
Old  Shiloh,  in  Carroll  County,  David  Crockett,  the  bear  killer,  would 
sometimes  attend  the  meetings,  dressed  in  homespun  shirt  and 
without  any  coat.  This  camp-ground  could  itself  furnish  ample 
material  for  a  volume.  It  has  ever  been  famous  for  its  precious 
revivals.  The  name  of  Robert  Baker  is  a  household  treasure  in  all 
West  Tennessee.  Having  known  him  well  in  my  boyhood,  I  think 
I  could  give  an  epitome  of  his  biography  in  one  sentence:  He  was 
noted  for  sweetness  of  character,  holiness  of  life,  and  a  loving  ear- 


150  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.        [Period  ii. 

nestness  in  the  pulpit  which  never  failed  to  win  the  hearts. of  his 
hearers. 

The  Rev.  S.  Y.  Thomas,  of  precious  memory,  was  another  pio- 
neer in  this  field.  At  the  old  Yorkville  camp-ground  many  were 
converted  under  his  ministry,  and  his  name  and  memory  are  still 
fresh  in  all  that  country.  , 

The  Rev.  William  Barnett  was  among  the  preachers  who  took 
up  their  permanent  abode  in  West  Tennessee.  He  immediately 
established  a  camp-ground  and  a  church.  From  Dr.  Beard's  bio- 
graphical sketches  I  extract  an  item  about  Harnett's  preaching  in 
this  country.  He  was  at  a  camp -meeting  at  McLemoresville, 
and  the  sermon  here  spoken  of  was  on  Monday.  Dr.  Beard  was 
present,  and  gives  the  description  from  his  own  observation.  W^e 
all  know  that  Dr.  Beard  did  not  at  any  time  make  his  statements 
too  strong.  He  says:  "On  Monday  he  preached  on  the  subject  of 
the  judgment.  It  was  a  sennon  of  great  power.  ...  It  was  terrific. 
The  crowd  trembled  under  the  influence  of  its  awful  and  over- 
whelming appeals.  Such  appeals  are  seldom  heard,  and  such  im- 
pressions are  seldom  made  now.  He  closed  with  a  great  movement 
in  the  congregation.  Many  were  convicted  and  hopefully  converted 
that  evening."  By  universal  consent  William  Barnett  was  called 
the  Boanerges  of  the  church. 

In  1824  the  order  for  the  organization  of  the  first  presbytery  in 
that  field  was  issued.  It  was  called  Hopewell,  and  still  bears  that 
name.  Its  original  members  were  William  Barnett,  Richard  Beard, 
Samuel  Harris,  and  John  C.  Smith.  The  first  meeting  of  this 
presbytery  was  at  McLemoresville,  in  Carroll  County.  West  Ten- 
nessee soon  became  one  of  the  great  strongholds  of  the  church, 
and  remains  so  to  this  day. 

What  was  called  Jackson's  Purchase  in  Kentucky  now  contains 
seven  counties  of  that  State.  This  country  and  the  Fwked  Deer 
region  of  Tennessee  were  opened  to  white  settlers  about  the  same 
time.  Cumberland  Presbyterians  in  both  Tennessee  and  Kentucky 
seemed  to  feel  some  responsibility  for  the  religious  cultivation  of 
this  field,  but  it  was  many  years  before  our  people  in  either  of 
these  States  assumed  the  sole  oversight  of  this  work.  Lying  in 
Kentucky,  it  was  separated  from  the  circuits  of  our  missionaries  in 


Chapter  XVI.]  EaST  AND  WEST  TENNESSEE.  15I 

that  State  by  two  great  rivers,  which  flow  only  twelve  miles  apart. 
The  inconvenience  this  caused  will  be  better  understood  when  we 
remember  that  the  lower  Tennessee  River  is  too  wide  to  swim, 
many  horses  utterly  failing  to  reach  the  farther  shore  when  they 
are  made  to  try  the  dangerous  experiment. 

An  illustration  of  the  trouble  a  Kentucky  missionary  had  on 
account  of  these  rivers  is  here  recorded.  The  Rev,  B.  H.  Pierson, 
D.D.,  now  of  Arkansas,  was  one  of  the  pioneer  preachers  in  this 
field.     He  is  now (1886)  in  his  eighty-third  year.     He  says:' 

We  traveled  with  but  little  if  any  remuneration.  .  .  .  My  circuit 
was  arranged  so  that  I  had  to  ferry  the  Cumberland  four  times  each 
round.  Once  I  came  to  the  bank  of  this  stream  without  a  cent.  How 
I  would  get  over  the  river  I  knew  not;  but  having  to  call  on  a  brother 
who  lived  close  to  the  ferry,  when  I  started  from  his  house  he,  without 
knowing  the  state  of  my  finances,  handed  me  a  '"bit" — twelVe  and  a 
half  cents — remarking,  "This  will  pay  your  ferrjage." 

Still  there  were  other  ferriages  to  be  paid,  but  the  preacher  went 
on  his  way.  He  says:  "I  had  the  altar  and  the  wood,  but  where 
was  the  sacrifice  ? ' '  God  provided  it.  He  preached  that  day,  and 
after  the  benediction  was  pronounced,  and  he  was  ready  to  set  out 
for  the  next  ferry,  a  lady  in  shaking  hands  with  him  left  a  whole 
dollar  in  his  hands.  With  overflowing  thankfulness  of  heart  the 
preacher  went  on  his  way,  with  money  enough  in  his  pocket  to 
pay  eight  ferriages.  This  was  the  amount  received  for  a  whole 
year's  labor. 

Dr.  Pierson  says  there  were  no  meeting-houses  in  this  region  at 
that  day.  All  the  preaching  was  done  in  private  houses,  or  out 
under  the  trees.  He  speaks  of  a  two  days'  meeting  in  a  private 
house  where  there  were  seventeen  conversions.  In  this  year's  work 
in  this  new  field  Mr.  Pierson  had  for  his  associate  in  missionary 
labor  the  Rev.  Adlai  Boyd,  of  Kentucky. 

I  have  been  able  to  secure  only  very  meager  accounts  of  the 
church's  early  work  in  Jackson's  Purchase.  This  mention  of  Dr. 
Pierson' s  experience  will  have  to  suffice  for  a  sample,  and  it  is 
doubtless  a  fair  sample  of  what  all  our  first  missionaries  in  that 
field  could  relate,  were  they  still  living. 

'  Dr.  Crisman's  "  Our  Old  Men,"  p.  76. 


152  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.        [Period  11. 

The  Logan  Presbytery,  when  its  territory  included  what  are  now 
five  States,  could  not  cultivate  all  its  field.  It  sent  men  to  Indiana, 
Illinois,  Ohio,  and  Missouri,  when,  if  a  selfish  localism  had  gov- 
erned it,  it  might  have  employed  every  preacher  it  had  in  its  home 
field.  Yet  that  noble  presbytery,  though  it  was  sending  so  many 
missionaries  to  the  West,  still  struggled  to  build  up  the  church  in 
Kentucky.  The  whole  State  was  divided  first  into  two  districts, 
and  later  into  four.  In  each  of  these  districts  evangelists  preached 
every  day  in  the  week.  The  biograph)-  of  those  evangelists  would 
include  the  whole  history  of  our  church.  Chapman,  Harris,  Hun- 
ter, Lowry,  Bryan,  Knight,  Delany,  Johnson,  Philip  McDonnold, 
John  and  William  Barnett,  McLin,  McDowell,  Lynn,  and  many 
others,  were  on  the  roll  of  evangelists  sent  out  in  that  day.  Stir- 
ring accounts  of  their  meetings  come  to  us  in  great  numbers. 

In  the  later  years  of  this  second  period  the  number  of  noble 
workers  in  our  Kentucky  pulpits  grew  to  such  proportions  as  to 
render  it  impracticable  to  give  special  individual  descriptions. 
Only  sample  incidents  can  be  indulged. 

The  Rev.  Matthew  Houston  Bone,  began  his  career  in  Ken- 
tucky. At  one  camp-meeting  where  he  expected  to  have  the 
assistance  of  several  older  preachers,  he  being  then  only  a  licen- 
tiate, he  found  himself  to  be  the  only  preacher  in  attendance.  He 
spent  nearly  all  the  first  night  in  prayer.  His  soul  was  distressed 
not  only  about  the  overwhelming  responsibility  which  had  fallen 
upon  him,  but  he  could  decide  on  no  text  for  the  morrow's  sermon. 
However,  a  text  on  which  he  had  no  sermon  was  impressed  on  his 
mind,  and  he  accepted  it  as  from  the  Lord.  He  preached  next  day 
from  this  text  with  wonderful  freedom  and  power.  The  whole  vast 
audience  was  deeply  moved,  and  a  work  of  grace  began  which  re- 
sulted in  a  great  number  of  conversions. 

"Scotch"  Smith  and  Dr.  Cossitt  both  entered  the  ministry  in 
our  Kentucky  pulpits  during  this  period.  One  was  a  camp-meet- 
ing preacher,  the  other  made  his  grandest  record  in  connection 
with  our  educational  enterprises. 

The  incident  in  the  life  of  Mr.  Bone  just  cited,  is  characteristic 
of  our  early  preachers.  They  believed  not  only  that  God  guided 
them  in  the  selection  of  their  texts,  but  they  earnestly  believed 


Chapter  XVI.]  EaST   AND  WEST   TENNESSEE.  I53 

that  on  some  occasions  he  gave  the  whole  sermon  as  well  as  the 
text.  An  incident  in  point  is  given  from  the  autobiography  of  the 
Rev.  H.  A.  Hunter.  It  was  at  a  camp-meeting  at  Mt.  Moriah,  near 
Russellville,  Kentucky.  Hunter  was  to  preach,  but  could  think 
of  no  suitable  text  or  sermon.  He  was  just  beginning  his  minis- 
try, and  had  but  few  ready-made  sermons.  In  those  days  the  senior 
minister  who  managed  such  matters  often  issued  his  orders  to  the 
young  preacher  only  a  short  time  before  he  required  him  to  begin 
his  sermon.  Hunter,  receiving  orders  thus,  fled  in  dismay  to  the 
woods.  Falling  prostrate  there  he  poured  out  his  complaints  to 
the  Lord.  There  were  only  a  few  moments  for  prayer.  The  time 
to  preach  came,  but  there  was  no  light,  no  text,  no  sermon.  He 
rose  and  went  to  the  pulpit.  They  sang  a  hymn,  and  while  they 
sang,  text  and  sermon  too  were  impressed  on  the  young  jDreacher's 
mind.  He  rose  and  read,  "  Ye  have  said  it  is  a  vain  thing  to  serve 
God."  He  testifies  that  each  successive  sentence  came  like  an  in- 
spiration, until,  the  sermon  over,  he  "called  for  mourners,"  and 
more  came  than  could  find  room  to  kneel.  That  was  at  the  nine 
o'clock  morning  service.  The  usual  second  sermon  had  to  be 
omitted,  and  all  the  rest  of  that  day  was  spent  instructing  and 
praying  for  anxious  souls.  Many  were  made  glad  in  Jesus  that 
day.  Many  cases  in  which  the  Holy  Spirit  did  imdoubtedly  guide 
the  minister  in  his  arguments  have  occurred  among  the  truly  con- 
secrated preachers  of  the  Cross  in  all  churches  and  all  ages.  These 
cases  have  by  no  means  been  confined  to  ignorant  and  visionary 
men ;  but  in  instances  coming  within  my  own  observation,  men  of 
the  profoundest  scholarship  and  severest  habits  of  study  have  been 
led  out  beyond  all  their  accustomed  fields  of  research  into  aro-u- 
ments  and  illustrations  not  their  own  —  arguments  whose  divine 
origin  was  abundantly  vindicated  afterward  when  the  preacher  dis- 
covered their  exact  fitness  to  a  state  of  things  of  which  he  was  pro- 
foundly ignorant  at  the  time  he  delivered  the  sermon.  The  writer, 
in  his  own  experience,  has  seen  and  felt  and  known  enough  of  this 
truth  fully  to  convince  him  of  the  fact  of  the  Holy  Spirit's  pi;esence 
and  power  in  such  cases. 

The  Rev.  G.  W.  Reynolds,  of  Berdan,  Illinois,  describes  a  Ken- 
tucky camp-meeting  in  which  the  Rev.  Henry  F.  Delany  set  forth 


154  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.        [Period  ii. 

in  a  sermon  the  contrast  between  the  eternal  future  destiny  of  the 
saved  and  the  lost.  The  two  worlds  were  so  vividly  painted  that 
they  seemed  to  be  right  before  the  people.  An  awful  sense  of 
their  reality  filled  all  hearts.  The  sermon  closed,  and  the  preacher 
took  his  seat  without  "calling  for  mourners"  or  asking  any  one  to 
conclude  the  services.  In  silence  and  tears  all  sat  for  ten  minutes, 
when  M.  H.  Bone  rose  to  his  feet  and  without  uttering  a  word 
walked  slowly  down  from  the  pulpit  and  out  to  the  woods.  The 
congregation  followed  his  example.  In  the  woods,  that  universal 
resort  for  private  prayer  in  those  days,  more  than  a  thousand  people 
were  soon  prostrate  before  God.  No  dinner  nor  supper  was  eaten 
that  day.  At  night  the  praying  multitude  gathered  at  the  place  of 
public  worship,  and  the  Holy  Spirit  was  poured  out  in  convert- 
ing power  to  the  salvation  of  great  numbers.  Mr.  Reynolds  thinks 
that  this  was  the  meeting  which  the  Rev.  Dr.  Samuel  Miller 
attended  when  he  got  those  impressions  about  Mr.  Delany's 
preaching  which  he  described  in  the  letter  spoken  of  in  a  previous 
chapter. 

Mr.  McGready's  field  of  labor  was  in  Logan  County,  Kentucky, 
and  the  history  of  the  origin  of  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian 
church  in  all  the  older  portions  of  the  State  belongs  to  the  first 
period  of  this  history.  Two  things  conspired  to  prevent  our 
church  from  gaining  that  pre-eminence  in  this  field  which  seemed 
at  first  to  be  its  heritage.  One  \vas  the  bitterness  of  the  anti- 
revival  Presbyterians,  and  the  other  was  the  immense  emigration 
of  Kentuckians  to  the  new  territories.  In  most  cases  these  emi- 
grants sold  their  Kentucky  lands  to  Baptists  from  Virginia.  The 
Cumberland  Presbyterians  had  no  churches  in  Virginia,  from  which 
State  nearly  all  these  land  buyers  came.  Still  the  church  grew  in 
Kentucky.  Before  the  close  of  this  second  period,  Cumberland 
Presbyterians  had  three  strong  presbyteries  in  this  State,  all  re- 
markably like, their  mother— old  Logan  Presbytery.  They  all 
held  special  fast-days  to  pray  for  more  ministers  to  be  called  into 
the  great  harvest,  and  sent  many  of  these  ministers,  when  they 
were  called,  to  labor  among  the  destitute  in  the  new  countries. 
They  also  tried,  so  far  as  they  could  by  the  itinerant  system,  sup- 
plemented by  camp-meetings,  to  cultivate  their  home  field. 


Chapter  XVII.]  ALABAMA.  I55 


CHAPTER   XVII. 


PLANTING   CHURCHES   IN   ALABAMA. 

Now  the  training,  strange  and  lowly, 

Unexplained  and  tedious  now; 
Afterward  the  service  holy, 

And  the  Master's  "Enter  thou."  # 

—F.  R.  H. 

A  GLANCE  at  the  history  of  Alabama  is  necessary  to  a  cor- 
rect understanding  of  the  church's  work  in  that  State. 
The  country  was  all  claimed  by  Georgia  under  its  original  charter 
from  England.  Several  efforts  were  made  by  Georgia  to  place 
colonies  on  this  soil,  but  as  the  whole  land  was  in  the  hands  of 
Indians  and  Spaniards,  who  also  claimed  the  country,  it  generally 
cost  the  Georgians  their  lives  to  settle  there.  Those  who  escaped 
did  so  by  promising  allegiance  to  the  Indians  or  the  Spaniards. 

Then  the  United  States  bought  Georgia's  claim  to  this  countr}', 
but  Spaniards  and  Indians  still  had  not  only  their  claims,  but  also 
what  is  called  "nine  points  in  the  law" — possession,  A  territorial 
government  was  however  established,  and  all  the  country  was  called 
Mississippi,  and  continued  to  be  so  designated  till  181 7. 

In  1805  the  Indian  claim  to  a  small  portion  of  what  is  now 
Madison  County,  Alabama,  was  purchased,  and  settlements  were 
established  and  the  Indians  withdrawn  in  less  than  two  years  after- 
ward. In  1813  the  long-promised,  long-delayed  evacuation  of 
South  Alabama  by  the  Spanish  was  accomplished.  In  1814  the 
Creek  claim  to  that  portion  of  Alabama  was  extinguished,  but  hos- 
tile Creeks  still  roamed  over  it  and  made  it  unsafe  for  Americans. 

In  18 16  the  country  east  of  Cotton  Gin  Port,  on  the  Tombigbee 
River,  was  bought  from  the  Chickasaw  Indians.  In  18 17  the  first 
Territorial  legislature  assembled,  Alabama  being  then  severed  from 
Mississippi.  In  that  legislature  there  was  but  one  senator.  Some 
of  the  counties  represented  had  in  their  elections  cast  but  ten  votes. 


156  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History         [Period  11. 

There  were  just  three  settlements  of  Americans  in  the  Territory — 
one  centering  at  Mobile,  one  at  Huntsville,  and  one  on  the  Tom- 
bigbee  River.  There  were  hostile  Creek  Indians,  and  a  Creek  war 
on  Alabama  soil  as  late  as  1836.  The  way  to  the  American  settle- 
ments in  South  Alabama  was  open  and  free  from  danger  only  by 
the  sea,  though  Georgians  and  Carolinians  sometimes  took  tlieir 
chances  and  traveled  along  the  land  route  from  the  east.  Travel 
from  Tennessee  and  Kentucky  was  sometimes  accomplished  on 
rafts  down  the  Tombigbee,  but  there  was  very  little  emigration  by 
that  dangerous  route. 

When  the  country  about  Huntsville  was  first  settled,  and  before 
the  organization  of  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  church,  "the 
council"  sent  Robert  Bell  to  the  new  settlements  around  Hunt's 
Spring.  The  next  year,  1808,  the  council  sent  Thomas  Calhoun 
to  the  same  field,  and  he  preached  in  Hunt's  house  before  that 
house  was  finished.  The  next  year  (1809)  the  council  sent  Robert 
Donnell  to  that  field,  and  kept  him  there  till  the  new  denomination 
was  organized.  It  was  a  favorite  field  with  him  all  his  life.  His 
ashes  rest  in  North  Alabama.  Our  old  churches  all  over  that  coun- 
try were  planted  by  him. 

In  181 7  a  family  that  had  just  arrived  from  South  Carolina  vis- 
ited Donnell's  camp-meeting  at  the  Meridian  church,  and  several 
of  its  members  were  converted.  One  of  these  was  a  boy  seventeen 
years  old,  who  from  that  day  to  this  has  been  helping  to  preach 
Jesus  to  the  people  of  North  Alabama.  His  name  is  A.  J.  Steele. 
John  Carnahan'  and  he  rode  the  circuit  together,  in  1819,  through 
North  Alabama,  attending  all  of  Donnell's  camp-meetings.  A 
little  later  John  Morgan  and  Albert  Gibson  "joined  the  band  of 
Alabama  preachers.  Then  came  other  noble  laborers,  and  North 
Alabama  bloomed  like  the  garden  of  the  Lord. 

In  John  Morgan's  diary  he  states  that  the  distance  around  his 
circuit  was  four  hundred  miles.  From  Steele's  autobiography 
(MS.)  we  learn  that  three  new  camp-grounds  were  established  on 
his  circuit  the  first  year.  This  was  everywhere  the  order  of 
things.     The  young  men,  as  soon  as  they  were  received  as  candi- 

'  Carnahan's  home  was  then  in  Arkansas,  but  he  was  under  the  orders  of  Elk 
Presbytery. 


Chapter  XVII.]  ALABAMA.  157 

dates,  were  sent  out  as  evangelists  on  circuits;  and  they  went,  too, 
pay  or  no  pay.  The  old  men  attended  the  camp-meetings,  and 
occasionally  made  tours  of  evangelism,  but  sustained  also,  in  some 
cases,  the  nominal  relation  of  pastor  to  some  congregations.  This 
relation,  in  many  cases,  was  so  loose,  that  any  preacher  of  the  church 
living  within  reach  of  a  congregation  which  had  one  of  these 
nominal  pastors  might,  without  asking  the  pastor's  or  the  session's 
consent,  send  an  appointment  for  regular  monthly  preaching  on 
any  unoccupied  Sabbath.  While  all  the  work  of  the  church  was 
devoted  to  planting  congregations,  the  absurdity  of  such  Presbyte- 
rianism  was  not  keenly  felt.  There  came  a  time,  however,  when 
it  sent  a  wail  of  woe  throughout  the  denomination. 

The  Elk  Presbytery,  in  1820,  ordered  two  of  its  members  to 
establish  a  circuit  in  South  Alabama,  but  for  satisfactory  reasons 
they  both  failed  to  comply.  In  1821  the  General  Synod  appointed 
certain  preachers  to  go  to  South  Alabama  and  organize  a  presby- 
tery. There  were  candidates  for  the  ministry  who  wanted  to  settle 
in  that  field,  and  it  was  believed  that  a  presbytery  might  soon 
secure  a  local  supply  of  ministers;  but  this  attempt  to  form  a  pres- 
bytery composed  entirely  of  non-resident  ministers  was  a  failure. 
A  quorum  never  met.  This,  as  will  be  seen  elsewhere,  was  not 
the  only  instance  in  which  the  church  sent  non-residents  to  such  a 
work. 

In  1817,  just  one  year  from  the  time  the  country  east  of  Cotton 
Gin  Port  was  purchased  from  the  Indians,  we  find  Cumberland 
Presbyterian  pioneers  from  that  region  petitioning  Elk  Presbytery 
to  send  them  a  preacher.  The  presbytery  requested  Robert  Don- 
nell  to  go  to  their  relief,  but  for  satisfactory  reasons  he  failed  to  do 
so.  The  next  year  (1818)  the  ladies'  missionary  board  of  Elk 
Presbytery  sent  Samuel  King  and  William  Moore  to  that  field,  and 
to  a  portion  of  the  Indian  countr>'  west  of  the  Tombigbee.  From 
the  autobiography  of  the  Rev.  R.  D.  King  (son  of  the  Rev.  Samuel 
King),  there  are  indications  that  these  two  men  labored  more 
among  the  Indians  than  among  the  white  emigrants;  but  they 
reported  at  the  next  meeting  of  presbytery  that  they  had  complied 
with  the  instructions  of  the  missionary  board. 

The  manuscript  autobiography  of  the  Rev.  R.  D.  King  says: 


158  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.        [Period  11. 

In  April,  1S21,  I  was  ordered  by  the  presbytery  to  form  a  circuit  on 
the  south  side  of  Tennessee  River,  in  the  counties  of  Morgan,  Law- 
rence, and  FrankUn,  in  Alabama.  I  had  to  hunt  my  own  preaching 
places,  and  make  my  own  appointments.  The  country  was  all  newly 
settled,  having  been  lately  purchased  from  the  Indians.  Here  I  found 
many  good  Cumberland  Presbyterians.  I  formed  a  circuit  of  four 
weeks'  extent,  with  regular  daily  appointments.  I  succeeded  in  getting 
up  three  camp-meetings,  one  in  Morgan  County  (then  Cataco  County). 
Here  I  was  assisted  by  the  Rev.  James  Stewart,  the  Rev.  James  Moore, 
and  my  father.  .  .  .  The  results  of  those  three  camp-meetings  were  one 
hundred  and  fifty  professions.  Besides  these,  there  were  a  good  many 
professions  at  my  circuit  appointments.  I  never  failed  to  reach  my 
appointments.  I  received  in  compensation  from  the  people  sixty  dol- 
lars.    During  all  this  time  I  was  only  a  candidate. 

In  the  fall  of  182 1  Elk  Presbytery  ordered  R.  D.  King,  then  a 
licentiate,  and  Daniel  Patton,  then  a  candidate,  to  go  to  South  Ala- 
bama and  form  a  circuit.  They  began  their  work  on  the  head 
waters  of  the  Black  Warrior.  The  Pleasant  Valley,  Jones  Valley, 
and  farther  south  to  Cahawba  were  their  fields  of  action.  King's 
manuscript  says: 

South  Alabama  was  newly  settled,  mainly  with  people  from  the 
Carolinas  and  Georgia.  They  had  never  seen  a  Cumberland  Presbyte- 
rian before  our  visit.  What  they  had  heard  of  us  was  from  our  ene- 
mies; so  we  had  to  fight  our  way  against  prejudice  and  opposition. 
We  traveled  separately,  and  never  failed,  either  of  us,  to  reach  our 
appointments.  We  often  had  to  swim  the  rivers.  We  preached  every 
day.  God  blessed  our  labors.  We  gathered  societies  under  a  written 
compact  to  organize  regular  congregations  as  soon  as  an  ordained  min- 
ister could  be  had  for  the  purpose.  This  was  the  beginning  of  the 
church  in  South  Alabama.  On  our  way  to  the  meeting  of  presbytery 
in  the  spring  we  swam  five  streams  in  one  day.  Hundreds  of  persons 
petitioned  for  us  to  be  sent  back.  For  this  winter  tour  I  received 
nothing. 

These  evangelists  were  not  sent  back,  however,  but  sent  to 
other  destitute  fields,  and  for  a  little  season  the  seed  planted  in 
South  Alabama  was  left  to  grow  without  cultivation  or  to  perish. 

The  Tombigbee  Presbytery,  organized  in  1823,  extended  partly 
into  Alabama:  but  the  first  successful  effort  to  form  a  presbytery  in 
the  southern  portion  of  the  State  was  made  in  1824.  The  manner 
in  which  the  new  presbytery  was  organized  is  typical.     The  Rev. 


Chapter  XVII.]  ALABAMA.  I59 

Benjamin  Lockhart  and  two  licensed  preachers  had  settled  in  that 
portion  of  the  State.  The  Rev.  William  Moore  declared  himself 
ready  to  move  to  South  Alabama  for  the  sake  of  the  church.  The 
Tennessee  Presbytery,  which  was  cut  off  of  the  Elk  Presbytery  in 
182 1,  resolved  to  hold  an  intermediate  session  in  South  Alabama 
for  the  purpose  of  ordaining  the  two  licensed  preachers  who  had 
settled  there,  and  in  this  way  to  provide  a  quorum  for  the  organi- 
zation of  Alabama  Presbytery.  All  this  was  in  obedience  to  an 
order  of  synod.  It  was  a  long  journey  for  a  whole  presbytery  to 
make,  but  men  did  not  shrink  from  such  journeys  in  those  days. 
Hostile  Indians  roamed  between  Tennessee  Presbytery  and  South 
Alabama,  but  a  quorum  was  present  at  the  appointed  time.  At 
this  meeting  the  presbytery  ordained  John  Williams  and  James  W. 
Dickey,  the  two  licentiates.  William  Moore  attended,  and  he  and 
Benjamin  Lockhart,  together  with  the  two  newly-ordained  minis- 
ters, constituted  the  Alabama  Presbytery,  and  made  that  field  their 
permanent  home. 

This  presbytery  had  a  strange,  hard  field.  With  hostile  Indians 
near  at  hand ;  with  a  population  mainly  from  States  where  Cumber- 
land Presbyterians  were  unknown;  with  one  of  its  members  already 
past  the  period  of  life  for  much  active  labor;  with  the  bitterest  mis- 
representations, both  of  its  doctrines  and  its  practices,  actively  cir- 
culated; with  a  location  isolated  from  all  the  rest  of  the  church: 
it  is  not  strange  that  this  presbytery  did  not  grow  as  did  some 
others. 

It  has  been  my  aim  to  avoid  the  discussion  of  all  those  preju- 
dices which  once  embittered  the  spirit  of  many  in  the  Presbyterian 
church;  but  the  history  of  the  early  struggles  of  our  own  church 
absolutely  requires  some  mention  of  these  things.  An  incident 
taken  from  the  manuscript  autobiography  of  the  Rev.  R.  D.  King 
will  suffice  to  illustrate  the  state  of  things  in  South  Alabama  when 
Cumberland  Presbyterians  began  their  work  in  that  field.  The 
State  legislature  then  met  at  Cahawba,  and  it  was  in  session  while 
King  was  there.  Several  of  its  members  knew  King,  and  invited 
him  to  preach  for  them,  which  he  did.  As  there  was  no  house  of 
worship  in  the  place,  the  three  denominations  of  the  town  each 
had  procured  the  use  of  the  State-house  for  one  Sabbath  per  month. 


i6o  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.        [Period  ii. 

This  left  one  Sabbath  unoccupied.  By  a  formal  and  official  resolu- 
tion the  legislature  invited  King  to  take  possession  of  the  house 
for  that  vacant  Sabbath.  He  accepted  their  invitation,  and  left  an 
appointment.  When  the  time  for  his  appointment  arrived,  and  he 
was  on  his  way  to  the  place  of  preaching,  the  resident  minister  of 
the  Presbyterian  church  came  driving  rapidly  past  him  in  his 
buggy.  When  King,  who  was  walking,  entered  the  hall,  which 
was  then  thronged  with  people,  this  Presbyterian  preacher,  whose 
name  was  Sloss,  was  wp  lining  out  a  hymn.  After  song  and 
prayer,  Mr.  Sloss  announced  a  text  and  proceeded  to  preach.  The 
sergeant-at-arms  of  the  legislature  came  to  King  and  said:  "Sir, 
with  your  permission,  I  will  put  him  out."  King,  however, 
begged  him  not  to  interfere.  IVIr.  Sloss  gave  a  horrid  caricature 
of  the  doctrines,  the  practices,  and  the  ignorance  of  the  Cumber- 
land Presbyterians,  and  warned  everybody  against  having  any 
thing  to  do  with  them.  After  the  benediction.  King  announced 
preaching  for  the  afternoon.  When  the  hour  arrived,  he  had  a 
crowded  hall,  and  there  was  a  solemn  and  precious  meeting  with- 
out the  least  allusion  to  Mr.  Sloss  or  his  caricature  of  our  people. 
When  Mr.  Sloss  came  to  his  own  appointment  the  next  Sabbath, 
his  wife  was  his  only  auditor.  He  tried  one  more  time  to  fill  his 
regular  day,  and  again  his  wufe  was  his  only  hearer,  the  members 
of  his  own  church  reprobating  his  conduct  as  much  as  others. 
Then  he  closed  out  his  work  in  Cahawba. 

The  Rev.  Gibson  W.  Murray,  whose  parents  were  South  Caro- 
lina Presbyterians,  was  brought  in  early  life  to  South  Alabama. 
While  visiting  relatives  near  Elyton,  this  young  man  attended  the 
first  Cumberland  Presbyterian  camp-meeting  he  had  ever  seen.  It 
was  all  new  and  strange  to  him,  and  the  newest  and  strangest  thing 
of  it  all  was  the  preaching.  He  says  in  his  manuscript  aiitobiog- 
raphy,  which  is  before  me,  that  the  preaching  he  had  been  used  to 
from  childhood  was  about  the  decrees,  about  the  absolute  certainty 
of  all  the  elect  being  saved,  and  that  all  this  had  never  in  any  way 
disturbed  his  conscience.  He  felt  that  nothing  he  could  do  would 
in  anywise  change  his  predetermined  destiny.  The  religion  upon 
which  he  had  been  brought  up  consisted  in  keeping  the  Sabbath 
sacred,  and  in  being  whipped  on  Monday  for  any  failure  in  his  cat- 


Chapter  XVII.]  ALABAMA.  l6l 

echism  lesson  the  day  before.  But  this  camp-meeting  opened  up  a 
new  world  to  him.  A  preacher  of  splendid  figure  and  lovely  coun- 
tenance rose  in  the  stand,  and  with  a  voice  which  won  its  way  right 
into  his  heart,  began  to  discuss  the  text,  "What  is  truth?  "  This 
preacher  was  the  Rev.  William  Moore;  and  this  remarkable  sermon, 
though  it  continued  four  hours,  Mr,  Murray  says,  held  the  whole 
congregation  spell-bound  to  the  last,  so  that  they  were  sorry  when 
it  ended. 

In  that  sermon  Mr.  Moore  stated  that  there  were  so  many  mis- 
representations abroad  as  to  what  his  church  believed,  and  his 
denomination  as  yet  had  so  few  books,  that  he  felt  it  to  be  his  duty 
to  give,  that  day,  a  synopsis  of  the  doctrines  which  his  people  held 
as  the  system  of  Bible  truth.  Mr,  Murray  says  that  from  that  day 
on  he  was  a  believer  in  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  system.  He 
went  home  and  re-preached  Mr.  Moore's  sennon  to  his  father's 
family,  and  the  result  was  that  the  whole  family  joined  the  Cum- 
berland Presbyterian  church,  Mr.  Murray  had  impressions  from 
that  sermon  wdiich  he  never  shook  off.  His  own  heart  was  laid  bare 
to  his  gaze;  his  own  responsibility  was  revealed,  and  he  found  no 
rest  until  he  cast  himself  irrevocably  upon  the  crucified  Redeemer. 
He  immediately  began  to  plead  with  sinners  to  flee  from  the  wrath 
to  come,  and  spent  the  remainder  of  a  long  life  in  work  for  Jesus. 

The  Alabama  Presbytery  had  eleven  candidates  for  the  ministry 
in  five  years.  Only  one  of  the  eleven  ever  made  a  preacher.  Five 
of  these  candidates  were  dropped  from  the  roll  at  one  session  of  the 
presbyter>'.  This,  like  all  the  other  presbyteries  of  this  period, 
had  pastorates  only  in  name,  for  all  its  so-called  pastors  were  really 
evangelists.  After  several  years  the  Rev.  William  Moore  took  reg- 
ular pastoral  charge  of  one  of  its  churches.  The  Rev,  J,  S.  Guth- 
rie came  into  the  presbytery  at  an  early  day,  and  made  a  live  evan- 
gelist of  the  original  type.  He  became  an  efficient  instrument  in 
carrying  the  gospel  into  many  destitute  places,  and  in  planting 
new  congregations. 

South  Alabama  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  countries  in  the 
world.     In   i860  I  was  traveling  among  its  churches,  and  wrote 
some  sketches,  historical  and  descriptive,  from  which  I  here  make 
a  few  extracts: 
II 


i62  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.        [Period  ii. 

"In  company  with  the  Rev.  Wiley  Burgess  I  visited  the  site 
where  long  ago  our  people  had  a  camp-ground.  '  Fallen,  fallen,  a 
silent  heap  of  ruins  now!'  Here  I  saw  the  old  Bible  which  once 
belonged  to  Canaan  pulpit.  On  a  fly-leaf  were  the  notes  of  a  ser- 
mon preached  at  the  opening  of  presbytery  by  J.  S.  Guthrie  long 
ago."  At  Canton  Bend,  in  the  house  of  the  Rev.  J.  C.  Weir,  this 
was  written:  "Mr.  Weir  is  one  of  our  pioneers  in  this  field.  He 
has  held  on  to  his  post  for  more  than  thirty  years,  begging  all  the 
time  for  more  men,  more  help.  Alabama  has  not  fallen  below  the 
third  State  in  rank  for  contributions  to  our  missions,  }-et  she  has 
never  received  any  aid  from  our  missionar}^  board.  It  is  a  newer 
State  than  either  Ohio  or  Illinois,  but  the  general  church  gives  no 
help  to  this  frontier  field.  At  Pleasant  Hill,  Alabama,  one  of  our 
oldest  ministers  sleeps  —  the  Rev.  William  Moore.  I  often  hear 
him  mentioned  in  the  South.  His  work  here  was  for  many  years 
a  difficult  one.  Sometimes  the  wicked  threatened  to  kill  him. 
Lawlessness  and  violence  were  quite  common  in  this  town  at  that 
early  day,  and  the  minister  of  Jesus  was  looked  upon  as  a  danger- 
ous intruder."  Often  while  Mr.  Moore  was  engaged  in  family 
prayers,  sons  of  Belial  would  stand  outside  mocking  and  making 
disturbance.  Meeting  no  check  in  their  lawlessness  they  were 
encouraged  to  continue  it,  and  finally  they  fired  a  whole  volley  of 
balls  and  shots  through  the  window  into  the  room  where  the  family 
were  kneeling  in  prayer.  Two  of  the  household  were  wounded, 
and  the  indignation  of  all  the  better  class  of  settlers  was  so  aroused 
that  they  organized  a  vigilance  committee,  and  gave  notice  to  the 
leaders  among  these  desperadoes  that  the  very  next  time  Mr.  IMoore 
was  molested  every  one  of  these  leaders  would  be  hanged.  Mr. 
Moore  had  quiet  after  that. 

There  are  names  of  other  ministers  now  gone  to  rest  that  are 
uttered  amid  grateful  tears  in  these  Alabama  homes.  Old  men, 
in  the  shady  portico,  talk  while  the  winds  bring  spices  from  the 
groves  of  magnolias:  and  in  their  talks  their  voices  grow  husky, 
and  their  eyes  glisten  with  tears  while  they  speak  of  Wayman 
Adair.  Adair  was  the  only  one  of  the  first  eleven  candidates  for 
the  ministry  in  that  field  who  persevered  in  the  work. 

South  Alabama  has  from  the  first  been  a  field  beset  with  trials 


Chapter  XVII.]  ALABAMA.  163 

to  our  preachers.  The  early  developed  tendency  to  gather  all  the 
white  people  into  towns,  leaving  the  rural  districts  to  immense  cot- 
ton plantations  cultivated  by  negroes,  was  the  death  of  most  of  our 
rural  churches  throughout  the  beautiful  land  of  the  magnolia  and 
the  cape  jessamine.  A  people  relying  on  camp-meetings  and  circuit 
riders  found  their  occupation  gone  when  there  was  no  place  to 
preach  in  except  towns. 


164  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  11. 


CHAPTER   XVIII. 


PLANTING  CHURCHES  IN   INDIANA  AND  ILLINOIS. 

Now  the  long  and  toilsome  duty, 

Stone  by  stone  to  carve  and  bring. 
Afterward  tiie  perfect  beauty 

Of  the  palace  of  the  King. 

—F.'R.  H. 

THE  Rev.  William  Harris  was  the  first  Cumberland  Presby- 
terian preacher  to  visit  Indiana.  In  a  letter  to  him,  written 
by  Mrs.  Lindsey,  of  Indiana,  in  June,  1812,  she  says:  "We  have 
had  but  one  sermon  since  your  visit  to  this  countr>\  One  Sabbath 
after  another  comes,  but  all  is  silent — the  glad  news  of  salvation  is 
never  heard.'"  The  date  of  the  visit  by  Harris  alluded  to  in  this 
letter  can  be  only  proximately  determined.  As  Mrs.  Lindsey 
moved  to  Indiana  in  1810,  and  the  visit  was  prior  to  181 2,  we  may 
fix  its  date  as  probably  in  181 1.  Her  pleadings  finally  induced 
Harris,  accompanied  by  Alexander  Chapman,  to  make  a  second 
preaching  tour  in  that  countr>'.  The  date  of  this  second  visit  is 
also  uncertain,  but  it  preceded  the  tour  which  Chapman  and  Barnett 
made  by  order  of  Logan  Presbyter>^  in  18 17. 

What  the  Methodists  called  circuits,  Logan  Presbyter}-  called 
districts;  and  what  the  ]\Iethodists  called  circuit  riders,  Logan  Pres- 
bytery called  missionaries.  Nowhere  in  the  Minutes  of  the  early 
meetings  of  Logan  Presbytery  have  I  found  the  missionar}^  called  a 
circuit  rider,  though  he  had  regular  rounds  of  "appointments"  like 
a  Methodist  itinerant.  One  of  the  districts  of  Logan  Presbytery 
at  first  took  in  several  counties  of  Kentucky^  along  with  all  of 
Indiana;  but  when  ministers  multiplied  Indiana  became  a  separate 
district. 

During  Harris's  tour  through  Indiana  the  claims,  wants,  and 
earnest  pleadings  of  those  pioneers  made  a  deep  impression  on  his 

'Beard's  Harris,  p.  129.        =H.  A.  Hunter's  MSS. 


Chapter  XVIII.]  INDIANA   AND   ILUNOIS.  165* 

heart.  At  the  next  meeting  of  his  presbytery  he  preached  a  ser- 
mon on  the  need  of  more  laborers.  In  this  sermon  he  gave  a 
description  of  the  West  and  its  wants.  His  feelings  became  so 
deep  that  he  could  not  talk,  and,  sinking  down  in  overwhelming 
emotion,  he  wept  and  prayed,  but  could  not  finish  his  sermon. 
Several  preachers  date  their  call  to  the  work  of  the  ministry  from 
that  hour  and  that  sermon,  and  several  of  these  made  that  same 
western  country  their  life-time  field  of  labor. 

The  presbytery  named  one  of  its  districts  Wabash  and  one 
Indiana,  and  sent  missionaries  to  both  every  year.  The  older 
preachers  generally  attended  the  camp-meetings  in  Indiana.  There 
is  something  sublime  in  the  struggles  of  Logan  Presbytery  to  sup- 
ply all  this  vast  field  with  the  gospel.  As  the  number  of  its  min- 
isters was  wholly  inadequate  to  meet  the  ever-increasing  demand 
for  the  grand  work,  a  fast-day  was  appointed  for  special  prayer  to 
God  for  more  called  laborers.  At  the  very  next  meeting  of  the 
presbytery  David  Lowry,  Aaron  Shelby,  William  McCord,  and 
William  Henry  were  received  as  candidates,  and  before  another 
year  four  others  were  received  —  H.  A.  Hunter,  W.  M.  Hamilton, 
A.  Downey,  and  Thomas  Campbell.  Six  of  these  men  were,  at  one 
time  or  another,  sent  to  the  vast  districts  of  Wabash  and  Indiana. 
At  subsequent  meetings,  within  a  few  months,  another  long  list  of 
names  was  added  to  Logan  Presbytery's  roll  of  preachers,  among 
others  Henry  F.  Delany  and  Joel  Knight.  These  men,  along  with 
others,  helped  to  plant  the  churches  in  Indiana  and  Illinois. 

When  Anderson  Presbytery  was  organized  Indiana  and  Illinois 
were  included  in  its  bounds.  Before  this  Logan  Presbytery  had 
extended  over  this  vast  field.  The  first  mention  of  any  repre- 
sentatives in  Logan  Presbytery  from  the  churches  in  either  of  these 
States  is  found  in  the  Minutes  of  the  fall  meeting  of  1819.  The 
Black  River  congregation  of  Indiana  and  the  Seven  Mile  Prairie 
congregation  in  Illinois  both  had  representatives  in  that  meeting. 
The  Rev.  Dr.  Darby  and  the  Rev.  J.  E.  Jenkins  in  their  pamphlet 
history  of  our  church  in  southern  Indiana  give  the  probable  order 
of  date  for  our  first  churches  there  as  follows:  Mt.  Zion,  McAlisters, 
Shiloh,  Milburns,  White  Oak  Springs,  Lester's,  Osborne's,  Mt. 
Pleasant. 


•i66  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.        [Period  it. 

The  manuscripts  of  the  Rev.  H.  A.  Hunter  give  some  touching 
accounts  of  the  hardships  which  the  first  missionaries  in  the  Indiana 
district  endured  in  their  winter  tours.  To  swim  rivers  in  midwinter 
in  such  a  climate  as  that  of  Indiana  was  a  trial  to  Southern  men 
even  when  they  were  of  that  hardy  type  which  was  so  common  in 
those  early  times.  Over  half  the  first  preachers  of  Indiana  were 
natives  of  Tennessee,  where  the  winters  are  mild.  Others  were 
Kentuckians,  and  one  was  from  South  Carolina.  None  of  these 
men  ever  missed  an  appointment.  If  there  was  any  exception, 
sickness  and  not  the  weather  or  the  hardships  was  the  cause. 

These  early  preachers  had  other  things  besides  weather  to  try 
their  courage.  Their  work  in  this  field  began  before  Indiana  was 
a  State,  and  before  Indian  troubles  ceased  to  fill  the  land  with  mid- 
night alarms.  The  great  Indian  war,  in  which  General  Harrison 
led  the  American  troops  to  victory  on  Indiana  soil,  did  not  end 
until  after  Cumberland  Presbyterian  pioneers  began  their  work  for 
Jesus  on  that  same  soil.  Harrison's  victories  live  in  the  annals  of 
blood;  the  victories  won  by  Harris  and  Chapman  live  in  the  annals 
of  eternal  life. 

The  following  account  of  the  organization  of  Mt.  Zion  congre- 
gation is  from  the  historical  pamphlet  already  mentioned: 

This  congregation  was  organized  by  the  Rev.  William  Barnett  in 
August,  1817,  at  a  Methodist  place  of  worship  known  as  Shiloh,  in 
Gibson  County.  The  elders  were  James  Knowles,  Samuel  Montgom- 
ery, and  Alexander  Johnson,  the  two  former  having  been  elders  in  the 
Presbyterian  church.  It  is  probable  that  this  was  the  first  Cumberland 
Presbyterian  congregation  in  the  State.  At  first  the  name  of  the  con- 
gregation was  Hopewell,  and  the  members  were  accustomed  to  worship 
and  hold  their  camp-meetings  at  the  same  place  with  the  Methodists. 
Thus  two  camp-meetings  were  held  each  year  on  the  same  spot  con- 
jointly for  a  number  of  years.  Finallv,  under  circumstances  which 
need  not  now  be  mentioned,  the  two  meetings  having  been  announced 
to  take  place  at  the  same  time,  the  Cumberland  Presbyterians  with- 
drew, and,  with  the  aid  of  many  sympathizers  in  the  community,  estab- 
lished a  camp-ground  one  half  mile  from  Shiloh,  and  held  their  meet- 
ing at  the  appointed  time.  When  Messrs.  Downey,  Lynn,  Hunter,  and 
others  were  assembled  at  the  time  of  meeting,  the  question  arose  as  to 
what  name  the  new  place  of  worship  should  bear.  Father  Downey 
said:  "Call  it  Mt.  Zion,  for  it  shall  never  be  removed."     [Ps.  cxxv.  i.] 


Chapter  XVIIL]  INDIANA   AND   ILLINOIS.  167 

There  are  other  historic  churches  in  Indiana,  but  the  interest- 
ing details  of  their  history  must  be  left  for  some  larger  book,  or 
for  some  local  State  history  of  our  people.  The  Evansville  and 
Newburg  congregations  belong  to  later  periods,  and  deserve  more 
space  than  I  can  give  them.  The  former  is  now  the  largest  church 
in  our  denomination. 

Two  incidents  of  the  early  Indiana  camp  -  meetings  are  here 
given  cm  the  authority  of  the  Rev.  H.  A.  Hunter,  who  witnessed 
them.     They  are  clipped  from  Dr.  Darby's  pamphlet: 

A  man  of  considerable  prominence  in  the  estimation  of  some,  par- 
ticularly of  himself,  who  clauned  to  be  a  Universalist,  heard  a  sermon 
on  Monday  of  the  meeting,  and  became  the  subject  of  such  conviction 
that  with  many  others  he  came  to  the  altar  for  prayer.  The  preacher 
went  to  him  and  endeavored  to  encourage  him  to  believe  and  be  saved. 

"O  Mr. ,"  said  he,  "I  can  believe  that  Christ  died  for  and  will  save 

the  whole  world,  but  I  am  such  a  sinner  I  fear  he  will  not  save  me." 

At  a  camp-meeting  near  Mr.  Lester's,  in  Daviess  County,  a  young 
man  and  his  bride  were  in  attendance.  The  lady  became  exceedingly 
concerned  about  her  soul,  and  came  forward  for  the  prayers  of  the 
church.  Being  deeply  affected,  her  weeping  and  praying  excited  the 
sympathy  of  her  husband,  who  came  to  her,  not  to  encourage  her  in 
her  purpose,  but  to  oppose  it.  He  bade  her  arise  and  go  out  of  the 
congregation.  She  entreated  him  to  stay  with  her,  saying,  "Let  us  go 
together  to  heaven."  Becoming  enraged,  he  refused  his  assent  to  her 
course,  and  threatened  to  leave  her  there  if  she  did  not  come  out. 
Then  throwing  her  arms  around  his  neck,  she  exclaimed:  "I  will  go 
with  you,  my  husband,  if  we  go  to  hell."  They  left  the  congregation, 
and  went  home  together.  They  were  never  in  another  congregation 
alive,  but  within  a  few  weeks  were  both  dead. 

It  is  to  be  regretted  that  Mr.  Hunter  did  not  leave  us  accounts 
of  many  other  thrilling  camp-meeting  incidents  witnessed  by  him 
not  only  in  Indiana  but  in  other  States.  Such  incidents  show  that 
the  preaching  of  these  Western  missionaries  produced  results  simi- 
lar to  those  seen  under  the  ministry  of  McGready  and  others  at  the 
beginning  of  the  great  revival  in  Kentucky  and  Tennessee.  There 
are  traditions  of  a  wonderful  character  about  Himter's  camp-meet- 
ings. Interesting  details  of  Chapman's  work  in  Indiana  are  given 
in  Dr.  Bird's  Life  of  Chapman,  a  book  that  all  Cumberland  Pres- 
byterians ought  to  read.     The  following  account  of  a  camp-meeting 


i68  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.        [Period  ii. 

held  by  Chapman  and  others  just  on  the  borders  of  the  white  set- 
tlements, and  near  to  the  Indians,  is  given  by  the  Rev.  William 
Lynn: 

They  commenced  their  operations.  The  Lord  was  present,  and 
worked  with  power.  Many  fell  to  the  ground  under  the  power  of  the 
gospel.  Some  lay  helpless  for  a  long  time,  which  caused  a  great  talk 
among  the  people.  There  was  a  very  strong,  rough-looking  man  who 
said  they  could  not  make  him  fall.  The  meeting  passed  on  till  Mon- 
day. Mr.  Chapman  preached,  and  just  as  he  commenced  his  discourse 
he  noticed  this  man  come  into  the  edge  of  the  congregation  and  stop 
and  look  at  him  very  steadily.  Directly  the  man  drew  nearer  the  stand, 
and  as  Mr.  Chapman  advanced  in  his  sermon  the  man  came  still  nearer, 
and  about  the  close  of  the  discourse  he  was  trembling  in  every  joint. 
Discovering  that  he  had  lost  the  use  of  his  limbs,  and  the  people  refus- 
ing to  carry  him  away,  he  grasped  a  small  tree  that  stood  near,  and 
cried  out,  "I  won't  fall,  I  won't,"  still  hugging  the  tree;  but  at  last  he 
fell  full  length  on  the  ground  before  the  stand. 

This  falling  helpless  continued  to  mark  the  work  of  the  great 
revival  till  about  the  year  1840.  It  was  common  at  most  of  the 
camp-meetings  where  the  fathers  of  our  church  preached.  It  dis- 
appeared gradually  as  the  power  of  the  great  revival  waned  and 
the  men  of  1800  passed  away. 

Illinois  was  not  a  State  till  1818,  but  daring  emigrants  settled 
there  before  the  French  and  Indian  titles  to  that  country'  were 
extinguished.  The  father  of  John  Crawford  moved  to  Illinois  in 
1808  and  settled  in  sight  of  a  camp  of  Indian  hunters.  This  was 
the  jEirst  family  connected  with  our  histor}'  that  became  settlers  in 
this  terr^tor^^  Crawford's  parents  were  anti-revival  Presbyterians, 
but  their  children  heard  the  revival  preachers  in  Kentucky  and  all 
sooner  or  later  became  Cumberland  Presb}-terians.  John  Crawford 
was  one  of  the  pioneer  preachers  of  our  church  in  that  State.  He 
lived  to  a  good  old  age  and  left  a  treasure  in  the  form  of  a  brief 
manuscript  autobiography  which  is  now  before  me.  The  first  ser- 
mon in  this  State  by  a  Cumberland  Presbyterian  minister  was 
preached  in  18 15,  near  Golconda,  by  the  Rev.  John  Bamett,  at  the 
house  of  Mr.  Glass,  whose  children  were  Cumberland  Presbyte- 
rians. These  children  were  the  first  members  of  this  church  in 
that  territory. 


Chapter  XVIII.]  INDIANA   AND    ILLINOIS.  169 

In  Mr.  Crawford's  autobiography  he  says  in  reference  to  the 
early  experience  of  his  family  in  Illinois:  "We  were  in  constant 
fear  of  Indians,  beasts  of  the  forest,  and  river  desperadoes."  He 
gives  an  interesting  picture  of  the  impressions  produced  on  a  youth- 
ful mind  by  prejudice.  He  says  he  heard  so  much  about  the  hor- 
rible Cumberland  Presbyterians  that  he  concluded  there  must  be 
something  of  demoniacal  nature  and  power  in  them.  Finally  he 
had  an  opportunity  to  hear  one  of  them  preach.  He  went  on  foot 
twelve  miles  to  see  and  hear  the  dangerous  preacher.  He  studied 
the  preacher's  looks,  but  saw  no  ferocious  beast  but  a  kindly  looking 
human  face.  He  watched  his  movements  but  saw  neither  the  spring 
of  a  tiger  nor  the  antics  of  a  monkey.  When  the  sermon  began  he 
studied  every  word,  but  he  then  found  something  else  to  do  besides 
studying  the  preacher.  His  own  life  began  to  stand  out  before 
him  all  covered  with  sin.  His  own  heart  began  to  be  revealed  to 
him  as  he  had  never  seen  it  before.  His  own  startling  relations  to 
God  and  eternity  swallowed  up  his  thoughts  till  all  other  things 
were  utterly  forgotten.  As  his  smitten  soul  found  no  relief  that 
day,  and  as  there  was  no  other  appointment  for  the  strange  preacher 
in  the  neighborhood,  Mr.  Crawford  went  twenty  miles  on  foot  to  a 
camp-meeting  in  Kentucky,  but  he  found  no  relief  there.  Then 
these  dangerous  strangers  came  again  to  Illinois,  and  under  their 
ministry  Mr.  Crawford  found  Him  of  whom  Moses  and  the  proph- 
ets did  write,  and  from  that  day  onward  he  proclaimed  the  truth  of 
the  gospel  and  pointed  the  people  of  Illinois  to  the  Savior. 

There  were  many  similar  instances  of  early  prejudice  and  its 
cure.  Although  the  one  here  added  was  not  located  in  Illinois  it 
took  place  under  the  ministry  of  the  same  men  who  participated 
in  the  Crawford  incidents.  A  young  lady  who  was  reared  by 
Roman  Catholic  parents  came  from  her  home  in  the  city  of  New 
York  on  a  visit  to  relatives  in  Kentucky.  A  Cumberland  Presby- 
terian camp-meeting  was  held  in  the  neighborhood.  Like  young 
Crawford,  her  information  about  this  church  led  her  to  expect 
something  unutterably  monstrous  at  one  of  its  camp-meetings. 
She  resolved,  however,  come  what  might,  to  see  for  herself  She 
attended  the  meeting  and  then  wrote  an  account  of  it  to  her 
mother.     After  telling  about  the  antecedents  of  the  case,  she  says: 


170  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.        [Period  11. 

I  just  went  to  see  and  be  seen  and,  mothci",  I  did  both  as  never  I 
did  before.  I  saw,  not  some  inhuman  monster  in  the  shape  of  a 
preacher,  but  my  own  lost,  ruined  self,  stripped  of  all  my  hollow  pre- 
tenses, guilty,  and  naked,  and  condemned  before  God.  I  saw  beneath 
me  eternal  perdition  and  my  poor  soul  about  to  plunge  into  its  fathom- 
less depths.  I  was  seen,  too,  in  all  my  guilt  by  the  piercing  eye  of 
God.  I  felt  its  withering  gaze  and  shrieked  with  condemnation  while 
I  felt  it.  Then,  mother,  I  saw  the  most  glorious  sight  any  poor,  lost 
sinner  ever  gazed  upon.  I  saw  the  Son  of  God  bearing  my  sins  on  the 
cross.  I  saw  7Hy  Savior  reconciling  me  to  God's  law  and  God's  king- 
dom. O  mother,  I  know  you  will  be  angry,  but  I  must  tell  you  all.  I, 
even  I,  am  now  a  happy  member  of  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian 
church;  and  I  thank  God  that  I  ever  heard  one  of  their  faithful,  hon- 
est, scriptural,  and  fearless  sermons.     Mother,  they  are  God's  people. 

John  Crawford,  from  Illinois,  and  the  Roman  Catholic  woman, 
from  New  York,  have  gone  home  now,  whither  their  spiritual 
guides  preceded  them.  They  see  and  are  seen  without  any  obscur- 
ing veil  to  shut  out  part  of  the  glories;  and  among  the  things 
there  to  be  seen  are  a  great  company  of  redeemed  ones  from  the 
early  camp-meetings  of  the  Cumberland  Presbyterians. 

After  John  Crawford's  trip  to  Kentucky  an  incident  occurred 
which  deserves  a  place  here.  Notwithstanding  the  bitter  preju- 
dices which  Mr.  Crawford's  parents  had  against  the  Cumberland 
Presbyterians,  they  yielded  to  the  wishes  of  one  of  their  sons  who 
had  professed  religion  under  the  preaching  of  James  Johnson,  in 
Kentucky,  and  with  many  misgivings  agreed  that  this  son  might 
invite  Johnson  to  preach  at  their  house.  The  appointment  was 
made  and  Johnson  came  and  preached.  At  the  close  of  the  ser- 
mon there  was  deep  feeling  and  the  preacher  began  to  shake  hands 
with  those  present  as  he  went  singing  through  the  congregation. 
The  parents  of  Mr.  Crawford  could  not  stand  this,  but  springing 
to  their  feet  they  left  the  room.  When,  however,  God  used  these 
same  Cumberland  Presbyterians  in  bringing  their  other  children  to 
Jesus  their  prejudices  all  gave  way. 

In  18 1 7  the  Rev.  Green  P.  Rice  moved  to  Illinois  and  settled 
not  far  from  St.  Louis,  which  was  then  a  meager  village  of  French- 
men. In  the  vicinity  of  Edwardsville  there  was  a  Methodist 
gamp-ground  but  no  preacher.  Methodists,  Presbyterians,  and 
Cumberland    Presbyterians    united    in  holding  prayer  -  meetings. 


Chapter  XVIII.]  INDIANA    AND    ILLINOIS.  171 

There  was  deep  and  solemn  interest  in  these  meetings,  but  no 
preacher  of  any  church  could  be  secured.  Finally  the  people 
entered  into  a  solemn  agreement  to  invite  the  first  preachers  they 
could  get  of  any  evangelical  church  to  come  and  hold  them  a  camp- 
meeting.  Mr.  Paisley,  a  Cumberland  Presbyterian  pioneer,  origi- 
nally from  Finis  Ewing's  congregation  in  Kentucky,  was  the  first 
to  succeed  in  securing  a  minister.  He  wrote  an  earnest  appeal  to 
the  Rev.  William  Barnett  setting  forth  the  great  need  for  gospel 
work  in  that  new  country.  Barnett  had  no  horse,  but  he  took  the 
letter  to  Finis  Ewing.  Ewing  read  it  to  his  congregation  and 
they  raised  money  and  bought  Barnett  a  horse  and  sent  him  on 
his  way  to  Illinois.  Green  P.  Rice  met  him,  and  he  and  Rice,  at 
this  Methodist  camp-ground,  held  the  first  Cumberland  Presbyte- 
rian camp-meeting  in  Illinois.'     This  was  in  1817. 

In  1818  the  Rev.  D.  W.  McLin  settled  in  this  State.  He  was 
a  preacher  of  the  original  type.  He  organized  the  first  regular 
congregation  of  our  people  in  the  State.  This  was  the  Hopewell  ^ 
church  (now  Enfield),  in  White  County.  In  1819  the  camp-meet- 
ing at  this  place  was  very  precious.  Among  its  converts  was  Joel 
Knight,  whose  career  in  the  ministry  has  left  its  mark  for  all  time 
on  the  church  in  Illinois  as  well  as  elsewhere. 

The  second  Cumberland  Presbyterian  camp-meeting  in  this 
State  was  held  by  R.  D.  Morrow,  John  Carnahan,  and  Green  P. 
Rice  at  Elm  Point,  in  Bond  County.  A  pleasant  fact  about  all 
the  first  work  of  the  church  in  Illinois  is  that  it  still  abides.  The 
churches  first  organized  continue  yet  in  existence. 

In  1820  the  Board  of  Missions  of  the  church  sent  the  Rev. 
Alexander  Chapman  on  a  missionary  tour  through  this  State. 
This  was  a  winter  tour,  beginning  in  December,  and  was  one  of 
no  little  hardship,  but  the  missionary  reported  good  results.  He 
says  that  the  destitution  of  the  means  of  grace  and  the  great  desire 
of  the  pioneers  for  the  gospel  were  enough  to  melt  the  hardest 
heart. 

Though  Illinois  abounded  in  soil  of  surpassing  depth  and  fertil- 
ity, yet  there  were  so  many  new  territories  thrown  open  to  settlers 

'  Dr.  J.  B.  Logan's  History,  and  other  authorities. 
*  Called,  at  first,  Seven  Mile  Prairie. 


172  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.        [Period  11. 

simultaneously  that  the  prairies  were  for  a  long  time  sparsely  set- 
tled. In  the  manuscript  autobiography  of  the  Rev.  Joseph  M. 
Bone,  he  tells  us  that  when  he  moved  to  Illinois  and  settled  in 
Moultrie  County  his  nearest  neighbor  lived  five  miles  distant.  Yet 
this  was  in  1829,  a  period  much  later  than  the  principal  events  of 
this  chapter. 

A  manuscript  history  of  4he  Cumberland  Presbyterian  church 
in  Illinois,  by  the  Rev.  H.  H.  Ashmore,  has  been  very  helpful  to 
me  in  preparing  this  chapter.  Speaking  of  the  hardships  of  pio- 
neer work  on  the  prairies,  he  says: 

The  pioneer  preachers  rode  over  the  prairies  in  summer  traveling 
sometimes  twenty  and  thirty  miles  without  passing  a  house.  There 
was  danger  of  getting  lost  in  the  rain  and  fog  and  they  were  sometimes 
thus  forced  to  spend  the  night  in  the  open  prairies  without  food  or 
shelter.  Wherever  there  were  a  few  cabins  along  the  skirts  of  the 
timber  they  were  ready  to  preach  at  any  hour  of  the  week-day.  On 
Saturdays  and  Sabbaths  the  people  for  miles  around  attended  the  meet- 
ings, and  earnest  efforts  were  put  forth  to  build  up  congregations. 
Many  of  the  early  settlers  lived  ten  miles  from  their  place  of  worship, 
yet  they  were  rarely  absent  on  Sabbath.  The  week-day  appointment 
was  a  sort  of  skirmish  line  to  find  a  suitable  place  for  the  Sunday 
services  and  for  protracted  efforts.  The  meetings  were  held  in  school- 
houses,  groves,  or  private  residences.  In  the  winter  and  spring,  thmigh 
the  circuits  were  long  and  the  appointments  numerous,  the  preacher 
had  to  be  at  each  place  rain  or  shine.  If  high  water^  were  in  the  way 
the  preacher  would  place  his  saddle-bags,  inclosing  his  Bible  and  hymn 
book  and  extra  linen  on  his  shoulder,  and,  in  less  time  than  a  ferry 
could  cross,  his  faithful  horse  would  carry  him  over  by  swimming.  No 
one  who  has  not  seen  a  snow-storm  on  the  bare  prairie  can  compre- 
hend its  driving  fury.  If  the  winds  were  changeable,  as  was  often  the 
case,  the  danger  was  great.  At  one  time  a  terrible  storm  overtook 
three  teams  on  the  prairie.  The  wind  changed.  The  horses  could  only 
go  with  the  driving  snow.  The  travelers  were  separated  and  lost.  The 
same  day  my  father  was  to  cross  that  thirt3--mile  prairie  on  his  way 
home.  After  the  storm  three  awful  days  of  suspense  passed  before  we 
heard  from  him.  At  the  edge  of  the  timber  and  along  the  lanes  near 
the  timber  lines  the  snow  was  too  deep  for  man  or  beast  to  pass. 
Every  man  that  could  muster  a  strong  horse  was  searching  for  the  lost. 
They  were  brought  in  one  by  one,  some  with  fingers  frozen  and  foot- 
sore. At  last  our  eyes  were  gladdened  when  my  father  rode  up  with 
his  great   butlalo   coat    making  him  look  three  times   his   usual  size. 


Chapter  XVIII. J  INDIANA   AND    ILLINOIS.  I73 

Besides  the  owners  of  the  three  teams  lost  near  my  father's  many  other 
people  were  lost  in  that  storm.  All  business  throughout  that  whole 
country  was  suspended  while  people  searched  for  the  lost.  Roads 
were  blockaded  for  weeks,  and  only  at  great  risk  could  men  mounted 
on  the  strongest  horses  go  from  one  house  to  another.  Our  pioneer 
preachers  passed  through  just  such  scenes  as  this.  The  common  peo- 
ple in  these  early  days  were  glad  to  have  the  privilege  of  going  to 
church,  or  "meeting,"  as  they  called  it.  There  were  no  railroads  and 
but  few  post-offices.  Newspapers  were  a  rarity.  They  were  glad  to 
meet  and  hear  the  preacher  and  enjoy  the  privilege  of  comparing  notes. 
People  would  sometimes  sit  and  listen  to  a  sermon  two  or  three  hours 
long  without  growing  weary.  If  our  people  of  this  generation  could 
go  back  to  the  days  of  Isaac  Hill,  Joel  Knight,  James  Ashmore,  Will- 
iam Finley,  R.  D.  Taylor,  Cyrus  Haynes,  J.  M.  Berry,  Daniel  Traugh- 
ber,  and  Archibald  and  Neil  Johnson,  they  would  learn  how  the  seed 
of  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  church  was  sown  in  this  State.  These 
men  were  giants  in  their  day.  Lincoln  University  is  largely  the  result 
of  their  labors. 

The  first  presbytery  organized  exclusively  in  Illinois  was  in 
1822.  But  McGee  Presbytery,  which  was  organized  in  1819, 
included  in  its  bounds  part  of  Illinois.  In  1822  the  order  for  the 
organization  of  Illinois  Presbytery  was  passed.  Its  original  mem- 
bers were  to  be  Green  P.  Rice,  D.  W.  McLin,  John  M.  Berry,  and 
W.  M.  Hamilton.  Rice  did  not  attend;  all  the  others  were  pres- 
ent. This  presbytery  immediately  organized  a  presbyterial  board 
of  missions.  Nine  probationers  for  the  ministry  were  transferred 
to  its  care.  That  meant  circuit  riding.  In  1829  ^^i^  presbytery 
had  ten  members  in  good  standing.  It  had  been  obliged  to  silence 
some  of  its  ministers.  One  of  these  cases  of  discipline  was  mixed 
up  with  the  great  slavery  question,  and  shows  that  the  church  in 
Illinois  at  an  early  day  took  a  decided  stand  on  that  subject. 

There  is  a  wonderful  difference  between  the  growth  of  the 
Cumberland  Presbyterian  church  in  the  two  States  to  which  this 
chapter  is  devoted.  In  Indiana  there  are  now  (1885)  but  three 
presbyteries;  in  Illinois  there  are  ten.  There  is  one  thing  indicated 
both  by  recent  statistics  and  by  this  early  history  which  may  help 
to  explain  the  difference.  In  Illinois  from  the  beginning  there 
was  a  vigorous  struggle  to  raise  up  a  home  supply  of  preachers. 
Fast-days  were  appointed  on  which  all  the  congregations  joined  in 


174  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.        [Period  ii. 

prayer  that  God  would  call  and  send  forth  men  of  his  own  choos- 
ing to  preach  the  gospel.  God  answered  these  prayers,  as  he  will 
do  to-day  in  all  our  frontier  presbyteries  if,  instead  of  clamoring 
for  more  preachers  to  come  from  the  older  States,  they  will  ask 
God  to  call  their  own  sons  into  the  work. 

Another  fact  doubtless  had  its  influence  in  causing  this  superior 
growth  in  Illinois.  At  an  early  day  some  of  the  oldest  ministers 
of  the  church  made  this  State  their  permanent  home.  Among 
these  were  Samuel  McAdow,  one  of  the  three  men  who  formed  the 
first  presbyter}^  of  the  church.  David  Foster  and  D.  W.  jMcLin 
also  cast  their  lots  permanently  with  the  pioneers  of  Illinois.  The 
first  preachers  of  the  church  made  preaching  tours  in  Indiana,  but 
none  of  them  settled  in  that  State;  and  when  a  later  generation  of 
Cumberland  Presbyterian  preachers  made  their  homes  there  a  larg^ 
portion  of  the  ground  was  preoccupied.  From  the  first  it  was  a 
maxim  of  our  people  not  to  build  on  other  men's  foundations,  but 
to  go  among  the  destitute.  With  very  few  exceptions  our  preach- 
ers have  conformed  to  that  maxim  in  the  past,  and  do  still  confoOB 
to  it. 


Chapter  XIX.]  MISSOURI   AND   ARKANSAS.  175 


CHAPTER   XIX. 


PLANTING  THE   CHURCH   IN   MISSOURI  AND  ARKAN- 
SAS, iSii  TO  1S39. 

So  willing  to  toil  and  travel, 

To  suffer  and  watch  for  all, 
So  near  in  heart  to  the  Master, 

So  eager  to  hear  his  call, — 
They  spent  their  souls  in  the  service  sweet, 
And  only  in  death  could  rest  at  his  feet. 

—B.  M. 

THE  first  great  tide  of  American  emigrants  to  Missouri  Terri- 
tory began  in  1816,  There  were  Cumberland  Presbyterians 
in  that  first  tide,  and  the  usual  cry  soon  began  to  come,  ' '  Send  us 
a  preacher."  In  1817  the  first  Cumberland  Presbyterian  sermon 
was  preached  in  the  Territory  by  Green  P.  Rice  at  the  little  French 
village  of  St.  Louis.  The  first  Cumberland  Presbyterian  preacher 
to  settle  in  Missouri  was  Daniel  Buie.  He  was  a  citizen  already 
established  in  Howard  County  and  had  regular  preaching  places 
when  R.  D.  Morrow  made  his  visit  to  that  country  in  1819.  In  a 
graphic  history  of  Buie's  emigration  to  Missouri  we  are  told  that 
he  made  the  journey  in  18 18  in  a  one-horse  cart. 

In  April,  1819,  the  ladies'  missionary  society  at  Russellville, 
Kentucky,  requested  the  presbytery  to  send  the  Rev.  R.  D.  Mor- 
row on  a  preaching  tour  through  Missouri  Territor}^  The  presby- 
tery agreed  to  the  plan  and  the  missionary  board  fixed  his  salary 
at  twenty  dollars  per  month.  He  had  to  make  his  own  appoint- 
ments and  "blaze  his  own  way"  in  more  senses  than  one.  A  let- 
ter of  instructions  was  placed  in  his  hands  and  he  was  commended 
to  God  and  sent  forth  on  his  responsible  mission.  Mounting  his 
horse,  equipped  for  travel  through  the  wilderness,  he  started  on  his 
long,  solitary  journey.  Could  he  have  foreseen  the  glorious  work  for 
Jesus  to  which  God  was  leading  him  his  heart  would  have  leaped 


176  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.        [Period  11. 

for  joy.  He  carried  bell  and  "hobble"  for  his  horse  and  rations 
for  himself.  Besides  these  things  there  were  a  few  books  in  his 
saddle-bags.  The  wilderness  between  Logan  County,  Kentucky, 
and  Alton,  Illinois,  was  passed  with  only  his  horse  for  a  traveling 
companion.  Crossing  the  river  he  proceeded  up  to  what  is  now 
Pike  County,  where  he  preached  to  a  few  settlers,  among  whom 
were  three  Cumberland  Presbyterians.  Proceeding  westward  he 
held  his  next  meeting  in  Callaway  County.  At  that  meeting  were 
grown  men  who  had  never  heard  a  sermon  in  their  lives.  Many 
such  there  were  in  that  territory — children  of  pioneers  who  pene- 
trated the  wilderness  long  in  advance  of  the  general  tide  of  emi- 
gration. Settling  down  on  some  rich  prairie  perhaps  ten  miles 
from  the  nearest  neighbor,  these  pioneers  brought  their  children 
up  without  schools  and  without  churches. 

In  just  such  a  home  amid  just  such  destitution  was  our  now 
venerable  brother,  the  Rev.  J.  T.  A.  Henderson,  reared.  His  rich 
manuscript  autobiography,  now  before  me,  describes  the  joy  of  the 
whole  family  when  they  heard  of  a  Methodist  preacher  making  an 
appointment  for  occasional  preaching  within  reach  of  their  home. 
When  this  family  and  one  other  settled  near  Round  Prairie,  Mis- 
souri, there  was  no  other  family  within  a  circuit  of  ten  miles.  It 
was  many  a  long  year  before  there  was  any  school  within  reach. 
Having  neither  post-offices,  newspapers,  nor  stores,  the  pioneers 
lived  a  lonely  life.  There  was  plenty  of  game  and  plenty  of  prai- 
rie grass.  In  some  parts  of  the  territory  the  grass  grew  higher 
than  a  man's  head  when  he  was  mounted  on  his  horse.  At  a  later 
day  this  grass  teemed  with  a  species  of  flies  so  numerous  that  they 
sometimes  killed  the  traveler's  horse  as  he  rode  across  the  prairies. 
It  is  a  touching  thing  to  read  Mr.  Henderson's  account  of  his 
rapture  when  at  last  his  home  was  surrounded  with  neighbors  who 
employed  a  school-teacher.  Into  such  sparse  settlements  of  pio- 
neers Mr.  Morrow  penetrated,  proclaiming  the  gospel  and  planting 
the  standard  of  our  King. 

When  time  for  the  meeting  of  Logan  Presbyter}-  drew  near,  Mr. 
Morrow  saddled  his  horse  and  made  the  long  journey  back  to  Ken- 
tucky. He  was  one  of  those  who  never  failed  to  be  present  at  the 
judicatures  of  his  church.     At  this  meeting  he  was  pitied  and  crit- 


Chapter  XIX.]  MISSOURI   AND   ARKANSAS.  1 77 

icized  for  his  emaciated  appearance.  The  long  journe)',  the  arduous 
labor,  and  the  indescribable  hardships,  had  well-nigh  cost  him  his 
life.  Yet  at  that  meeting  of  the  Presbyter>-  he  made  an  appeal  for 
the  spiritually  destitute  pioneers  of  Missouri  which  melted  the 
people  to  tears.  His  whole  heart  was  enlisted  for  that  field,  and 
his  wonderful  career  afterward  was  but  an  outgrowth  of  his  deep 
earnestness. 

Aofain  Mr.  Morrow  was  sent  to  Missouri.  The  orders  under 
which  the  missionary  went  on  this  second  trip  required  him  to 
remain  a  year.  Although  Missouri  now  had  a  presbytery,  and  Mr. 
Morrow's  membership  was  in  it,  yet  he  still  worked  under  the  mis- 
sionary board  at  Russellville,  Kentucky.  His  report  to  that  board 
in  the  fall  of  1820  deserves  to  be  handed  down  as  a  precious  record. 
Here  it  is,  copied  from  the  manuscript  histor}'  prepared  by  Logan 
Presbytery  in  obedience  to  the  order  of  the  General  Synod: 

I  traveled  as  a  missionary  in  Missouri  nine  months.  I  passed 
through  all  the  counties  in  the  Territory  except  two.  I  rode  horseback 
upwards  of  three  thousand  miles;  have  enjoyed  pretty  good  health. 
I  was  kindly  received  by  the  people.  My  congregations  were  large 
and  attentive.  The  desire  for  preaching  from  our  body  surpasses  any 
thing  I  have  ever  before  witnessed.  Ever^^where  the  people  were 
pressing  me  to  return  and  preach  for  them  again.  Often  I  left  them 
with  tears  streaming  down  their  cheeks,  while  they  said,  "You  are 
going  away,  and  we  shall  have  no  more  preaching.  Our  children  are 
growing  up  in  a  strange  land,  without  having  any  one  to  show  them 
the  way  of  life."  Mothers  would  follow  me  to  the  gate,  begging  me  to 
pray  for  them  and  their  children  in  that  w.ild  wilderness.  Young  peo- 
ple would  mount  their  horses  and  ride  with  me  five  or  six  davs  for  the 
sake  of  instruction  in  spiritual  things.  Among  these  were  many  poor 
sinners  seeking  salvation,  many  of  whom  were  grown  men  and  women 
who  had  never  heard  a  sermon  in  their  lives  till  I  came  among  them. 
During  my  tour  I  preached  one  hundred  and  sixty  sermons.  The  Lord 
was  with  me,  and  applied  his  own  truth  to  the  hearts  of  my  hearers. 
Sixty-five  professed  to  find  Christ  precious  to  their  souls.  I  received 
forty-nine  dollars  for  your  missionary  board. 

Mr.  Morrow  was  continued  in  Missouri.     He  was  now  connected 
with  another  presbytery,  but  he  wrote  a  letter  to  Logan  Presbytery 
the  next  year(i82i)  pleading  with  undiminished  fervor  for  the  des- 
titute.    In  that  letter  he  says  he  finds  that  good  fruits  have  fol- 
12 


178  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.        [Period  11. 

lowed  his  former  visits,  and  that  there  have  been  several  conver- 
sions among  those  whom  he  left  in  tears.  He  had  held  four  camp- 
meetings  since  his  return  to  Missouri,  all  of  which  were  successful. 
Then  he  adds: 

Brethren  and  fathers,  permit  me,  through  you,  to  address  the  Ladies' 
Missionary  Society  under  your  care.  I  want  them  to  know  that  their 
labor  of  love  in  the  cause  of  God  has  not  been  in  vain.  The  great 
Head  of  the  Church  has  condescended  to  bless  the  weak  efforts  of  their 
missionary  far  beyond  what  I  had  any  right  to  expect.  Precious  souls 
in  great  numbers  have  been  brought  to  the  knowledge  of  salvation. 
But  past  success  greatly  increases  the  demand  for  more  missionaries. 
O  that  you  and  they  could  hear  the  cries  of  the  destitute  which  are 
coming  up  from  all  quarters  of  this  wilderness,  cries  for  the  gospel  of 
our  salvation,  cries  for  more  preachers,  coming  up,  too,  from  the  uncon- 
verted as  well  as  from  lambs  of  the  fold,  who  have  no  one  to  guide 
them  in  the  way  of  life. 

The  order  for  the  organization  of  McGee  Presbytery  was  passed 
in  the  autmnn  after  Morrow  was  first  sent  to  that  field  (1819).  Its 
original  members  were  Green  P.  Rice,  Daniel  Buie,  R.  D.  Morrow, 
and  John  Carnahan.  Rice  lived  in  Illinois,  and  Carnahan  across 
the  wilderness,  five  hundred  miles  away  in  Arkansas;  yet  all  these 
men  were  at  the  organization. 

The  next  year  (1820)  Finis  Ewing  moved  to  Missouri  and  set- 
tled in  Cooper  County  among  his  old  neighbors  from  Kentucky 
who  had  preceded  him.  He  soon  had  an  organized  congregation, 
a  meeting-house,  and,  of  course,  a  camp-ground.  This  church. 
New  Lebanon,  has  had  a  remarkable  history,  and  has  shared  largely 
in  the  work  for  the  Master  in  that  State. 

In  1 82 1  R.  D.  Morrow  and  Finis  Ewing  opened  a  school  of  the 
prophets.  Morrow  taught  science  and  Ewing  theology.  No 
charge  was  made  for  the  young  preachers'  tuition  or  boarding. 
McGee  Presbytery  had  already  enrolled  a  large  number  of  candi- 
dates for  the  ministry,  and  these  eagerly  availed  themselves  of  the 
advantages  here  offered.  There  was  a  long  summer  vacation  which 
was  spent  in  preaching  tours  and  camp-meetings,  Morrow  and 
Ewing  accompanying  the  young  preachers. 

In  all  the  history  of  our  church  there  is  no  more  interesting 
work  than  that  done  by  this  school.     It  was  a  pioneer  theological 


Chapter  XIX.]  MISSOURI   AND   ARKANSAS.  1 79 

seminary  conducted  by  live  men  who  loved  souls  and  knew  how  to 
work  for  them.  Morrow  was  a  man  of  good  scholarship,  and  pre- 
sided over  a  college  in  later  years;  but  this  pioneer  theological 
school  stands  pre-eminent  among  the  good  results  of  his  and 
Ewing's  noble  work  for  the  Master.  The  roll  of  young  men  here 
taught  includes  many  cherished  and  honored  names,  and  one  must 
read  the  history^  of  the  whole  Cumberland  Presbyterian  church  to 
appreciate  the  precious  fruits  of  this  school.  There  were  features 
about  the  school  which  deserve  to  be  copied  by  our  later  and 
stronger  theological  seminary.  It  combined  theory  with  practice, 
not  that  stupid  moot  practice  before  a  professor  in  the  recitation 
room,  which  always  seemed  to  me  to  be  a  good  way  to  teach  life- 
less routine  and  make  hypocrites,  but  practice  under  the  eyes  of 
the  professors  out  in  the  real  harvest-field  where  souls  are  perish- 
ing, and  where  trophies  for  the  eternal  crown  of  glory  are  won  by 
the  young  laborers.  The  teachers  went  along  with  their  pupils, 
and  held  meetings  during  their  long  vacation. 

In  the  spring  of  1822  the  Rev.  R.  D.  King,  a  licentiate,  and 
the  Rev.  Reuben  Burrow,  a  candidate,  were  ordered  by  Elk  Pres- 
bytery to  travel  and  preach  in  Missouri.  I  am  fortunate  in  having 
a  full  account  of  this  tour  from  both  the  actors  in  it.  They  started 
on  horseback  from  Tennessee  just  after  the  April  meeting  of  the 
presbytery.  Their  first  entertainment  was  swimming  water-courses. 
After  this  followed  a  much  more  protracted  entertainment  in  the 
form  of  chills  and  fever;  yet  they  missed  no  appointments  until 
long  after,  when  sickness  of  a  more  stubborn  nature  caused  a  few 
failures.     Burrow  says: 

I  was  placed  on  a  chxuit  with  John  Morrow.  The  circuit  was  in 
western  Missouri,  including  the  country  where  Lexington  and  Inde- 
pendence have  since  risen  up.  .  ,  ,  About  the  fourth  day,  after  Brother 
Morrow  had  preached  rather  a  dull  sermon,  I  was  invited  to  conclude 
the  services;  and  while  trying  to  talk,  ere  I  was  aware  of  my  own  con- 
dition, God  had  raised  me  higher  and  filled  me  fuller  of  heaven  than 
ever  before.  The  people  present  were  deeply  moved  by  the  power  of 
the  Almighty.  ...  In  the  course  of  about  two  weeks  the  most  of  them 
made  profession  of  religion.  Captain  William  Jack  became  awakened 
on  this  occasion,  and  covenanted  with  others  to  seek  life,  but  did  not 
find  peace  till  two  weeks  afterward. 


i8o  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.        [Period  ii. 

A  camp-meeting  was  held  not  far  away.  Captain  Jack  took  his 
family  and  attended.  It  was  there  he  found  Jesus,  and  his  after 
life  was  full  of  usefulness  to  the  church.  There  were  over  three 
hundred  converts  on  that  circuit  that  year.     Burrow  states: 

The  people  were  kind  to  us,  and  gave  us  some  clothing  such  as  they 
could  make,  and  I  received  eight  dollars  in  money  for  the  year,  and  felt 
very  well  contented  and  thankful  for  that. 

At  one  time  during  this  missionary  journey  Burrow's  horse  got 
out  and  ran  off,  but  he  was  not  to  be  thwarted  by  a  little  thing  like 
that.  He  shouldered  his  saddle-bags  and  started  around  his  circuit 
afoot.     He  had  eighty  miles  to  travel  over  the  prairies.     He  says: 

My  feet  became  very  sore  from  travel.  The  second  day  about  three 
o'clock  I  entered  the  last  stretch  of  my  journey.  It  was  a  prairie  of 
more  than  twenty  miles.  Here  I  toiled  in  weariness  and  pain  until 
midnight  before  I  reached  a  house  where  I  could  quench  my  thirst  and 
rest  my  weary  limbs. 

Here  Captain  Jack  overtook  him,  bringing  his  horse.  An  inci- 
dent in  Dr.  Burrow's  later  life  has  the  same  ring.  He  was  regular 
supply  for  a  church  fifteen  miles  from  his  home.  On  one  occasion 
he  had  no  horse  to  ride  to  his  appointment.  He  made  no  effort  to 
borrow,  but  taking  his  staff  in  his  hand  (he  was  an  old  man  then) 
he  walked  to  his  appointment. 

While  Burrow  rode  the  circuit  with  the  youthful  John  Morrow, 
King  was  taken  under  the  guardianship  of  the  Rev.  R.  D.  IVIorrow, 
to  travel  with  him  and  hold  meetings.  They  spent  the  summer 
holding  camp-meetings  in  the  bounds  of  INIcGee  Presb\-tery,  In 
the  fall,  when  Morrow  returned  to  his  work  in  the  school,  King 
was  pi'-.ced  on  a  circuit  in  Ray  and  Clay  counties.  He  kept  up  his 
work  on  this  circuit  until  Februar\',  when  he  was  prostrated  by 
sickness.  In  the  spring  he  traveled  one  hundred  miles  to  be  at  the 
meeting  of  McGee  Presbytery,  although  he  had  a  chill  erev}'  other 
day  on  the  whole  trip. 

Next  year  Mr,  King  returned  to  Elk  Presbyter}',  but  was  sent 
back  to  Missouri  in  company  with  his  father,  the  Rev.  Samuel 
King,  on  another  missionary  tour.  Then  he  and  his  father  both 
moved  to  that  State,  where  his  father  spent  the  remainder  of  his 
life  in  earnest  labors,  preaching  to  the  very  last.      Among  the 


Chapter  XIX.]  MISSOURI   AND   ARKANSAS.  l8l 

converts  of  R.  D.  King's  meetings  in  various  fields  were  LeRoy 
Woods,  T.  M.  Johnston,  and  many  others,  who  afterward  became 
efficient  ministers.  King's  ashes  rest  in  Texas,  where  he  closed 
his  life  of  toil. 

While  these  missionaries  from  a  distance  planted  the  church  in 
Missouri,  it  was  the  home  supply  of  ministers  who  grew  up  in  that 
pioneer  school  taught  by  Ewing  and  Morrow  that  carried  on  and 
established  the  work.  In  a  careful  study  of  the  whole  field  from 
Pennsylvania  to  California  I  find  no  section  or  State  where  the 
church  has  become  a  strong,  established  power  without  this  home 
supply  of  pastors  and  evangelists.  Looking  to  distant  fields  for 
missionaries  instead  of  praying  God  to  call  our  own  sons  to  the 
holy  work  is  the  road  to  failure.  It  is  the  sons  of  Texas  who  are 
taking  that  great  State  for  Jesus.  It  is  Pennsylvanians  who  are 
making  the  church  strong  in  western  Pennsylvania.  It  was  the 
sons  of  Missouri  who,  in  the  early  history  of  the  church,  gave 
Missouri  such  a  prominent  place  among  Cumberland  Presbyterians. 
But  no  native  Californian  is  leading  our  forces  on  the  golden 
shores.  Other  parts  of  the  church  supply  ministers  to  bear  our 
banners  in  Ohio.  Preachers  from  other  States  are  chiefly  depended 
on  to  fill  our  pulpits  in  Louisiana  and  Georgia.  We  need  the 
return  of  the  spirit  of  the  olden  times.  We  ought  to  go  with 
fasting,  and  humility,  and  humble  prayer  to  God,  pleading  with 
him  to  call  men,  to  call  our  own  sons,  to  the  gospel  ministry'. 

In  1823  the  Rev.  Robert  Sloan  was  one  of  Missouri's  circuit 
riders.  One  of  his  camp-meetings,  in  Chariton  County,  was  the 
means  of  bringing  many  of  the  prominent  settlers  into  the  fold  of 
Christ.  That  meeting  is  spoken  of  even  yet  in  Missouri  as  a  won- 
derful work  of  God  among  the  pioneers.  Several  of  the  converts 
were  men  who  in  after  years  made  a  deep  impression  on  the  public 
affairs  of  that  country.  In  1824  Mr.  Sloan  spent  six  months  on 
what  was  then  called  the  "hard  circuit."  For  this  six  months' 
labor  he  received  one  white  cravat.  Mr.  Sloan  continued  his  faith- 
ful pioneer  labors  till  the  close  of  his  life.  His  noble  wife,  -who 
was  a  daughter  of  the  Rev.  Finis  Ewing,  still  survives. 

Among  the  faithful  workers  for  Jesus  in  this  field,  as  in  all 
others  were  noble  women  not  a  few.     Those  who  would  like  to 


i82  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.        [Period  ii. 

read  the  life  of  one  of  the  noblest  of  these  are  referred  to  the  biosf- 
raphy  of  Mrs.  Margaret  Ewing — "Aunt  Peggy,"  as  she  was  called — 
written  by  her  gifted  son,  Judge  R.  C.  Ewing. 

Among  the  hardy  pioneers  of  the  Missouri  churches  the  Rev. 
Archibald  McCorkle  fills  an  honorable  place.  He  traveled  through 
the  wilderness  from  one  new  settlement  to  another.  He  carried 
his  own  provisions,  slept  on  the  ground,  and  tiirned  his  hobbled 
horse  on  the  grass  at  night.  He  faced  the  beating  rains  and  the 
bitter  snow-storms  in  order  to  preach  Jesus  to  men  living  in  the 
destitute  regions  of  the  frontier.  In  one  of  the  camp-meetings  on 
Mr.  McCorkle' s  circuit  there  was  such  a  general  victory  that,  like 
Hugh  Kirkpatrick  in  the  meeting  in  Tennessee,  described  in  a 
former  chapter,  he  reported  "all  the  material  worked  up'" — that  is, 
all  the  unconverted  people  present  became  Christians.  The  work 
at  this  meeting  began  under  the  preaching  of  the  Rev.  Finis 
Ewing.  During  one  of  Mr.  McCorkle' s  tours  over  a  hundred  per- 
sons claimed  to  be  converted  in  his  meetings,  and  yet  for  that  six 
months  of  successful  work  among  the  scattered  pioneers  he  received 
just  eight  dollars;  the  same  salary  which  Reuben  Burrow  received 
a  few  years  before  for  six  months  of  arduous  toil  w4th  the  grandest 
results  on  the  records  of  the  church's  pioneer  work. 

Burrow  and  McCorkle  both  furnished  their  own  horses  and  paid 
their  own  unavoidable  traveling  expenses.  But  eight  dollars  was 
more  than  the  pay  many  another  missionary  received,  not  only  in 
Missouri  but  even  in  the  oldest  parts  of  the  church.  R.  D.  King 
preached  two  years  in  Maury  and  Giles  counties,  Tennessee,  before 
he  moved  to  Missouri,  receiving  for  his  services  neither  money  nor 
any  other  kind  of  compensation  from  the  people  to  whom  he 
ministered.  He  lived  on  the  small  estate  which  his  wife  had  inher- 
ited till  that  was  exhausted,  and  then  sold  his  little  fann  for  money 
enough  to  take  him  to  Missouri. 

The  Rev.  Hugh  Robinson  Smith  was  among  those  who  took 
the  infant  churches  of  Missouri  by  the  hand  and  rendered  them 
great  service.  He  also  sought  out  the  homes  of  the  destitute  and 
planted  churches  among  the  scattered  cabins  on  the  prairies.  He 
carried  Hebrew  and  Greek  books  in  his  saddle-bags  and  pursued  a 
full  course  of  study  while  on  his  circuits.     His  career,  says  Judge 


Chapter  XIX.]  MISSOURI   AND   ARKANSAS.  183 

Ewing,  was  full,  complete,  finished.  In  all  its  parts  he  accom- 
plished his  mission,  and  was  wanting  neither  in  literary  preparation 
nor  in  soundness  of  doctrine,  neither  in  unction  of  the  Holy  Ghost 
nor  in  fidelity  to  perform  the  work  committed  to  his  trust.  Judge 
Ewing  speaks  also  of  Frank  M.  Braly  as  a  representative  of  the 
best  type  of  Missouri's  circuit  riders.  He  was  among  the  hardy 
pioneers  of  an  early  day.  His  father  went  to  Missouri  in  advance 
of  that  great  wave  of  emigration  which  set  in  toward  that  territory 
in  1816.  He  was  brought  up  in  that  wilderness,  and  to  the  circuit 
on  the  frontiers  and  to  camp-meetings  he  devoted  all  the  days  of 
his  manhood.  For  one  whole  year  devoted  exclusively  to  the 
work  of  an  itinerant  evangelist  he  received  nine  dollars  and  fifty 
cents. 

Judge  Ewing  relates  a  characteristic  incident  of  Mr.  Braly' s 
cajeer.  On  his  way  to  the  meeting  of  presbytery,  accompanied  by 
several  others,  one  of  the  young  preachers  was  taken  suddenly 
sick  so  that  he  could  not  travel.  Mr.  Braly  remained  with  him. 
Their  stopping  place  was  a  cabin  in  the  wilderness.  Neither  doc- 
tor nor  drugs  were  to  be  had,  but  Mr.  Braly  believed  that  God 
healed  the  sick  in  answer  to  the  prayer  of  faith;  so  he  and  his 
friend  resorted  to  the  great  Physician  and  his  friend  recovered  in 
time  to  reach  the  presbytery.  Another  incident  from  the  same 
authority  illustrates  the  manner  in  which  opposition  and  prejudice 
were  often  overcome.  A  Calvinist  of  the  most  rigid  type  under- 
took to  prove  to  Mr.  Braly  that  missionary  work  and  all  revival 
meetings  and  camp-meetings  were  uncalled  for  and  wrong,  because 
God  would  save  his  own  elect  in  his  own  way  and  time.  He 
seemed  to  be  sorry  for  Mr.  Braly  personally,  and  to  wish  tp  dis- 
suade him  from  undergoing  all  the  fatigue  and  hardships  which  he 
was  encountering.  He  tried  to  convince  the  preacher  that  no 
amount  of  exertion  which  he  could  make  would  change  the  final 
results.  It  is  not  claimed  that  this  man  was  a  fair  representative 
of  genuine  Calvinism,  but  his  perversion  of  the  doctrine  was  a 
very  common  one  among  its  professed  adherents.  Mr.  Braly, 
however,  went  on  with  his  meeting.  Several  members  of  the  Cal- 
vinist's  family  were  at  the  "mourner's  bench"  weeping  and  crying 
for  mercy,  and  soon  they  were  filled  with  joy  and  peace  in  Jesus. 


1 84  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.        [Period  ii. 

Their  faces  shone  with  a  heavenly  radiance  as  they  told  what  God 
had  done  for  them.     Then  this  man's  prejudices  all  vanished. 

Judge  Ewing-  in  his  sketches  gives  a  touching  picture  of  Bra- 
ly's  faithfulness  and  self-denying  consecration.  At  one  time  he 
had  traveled  among  the  destitute,  holding  meetings  and  receiving 
no  pay  until  his  clothing  was  almost  worn  out.  His  boots  espe- 
cially were  unfit  to  wear  and  he  had  no  money  to  buy  new  ones, 
yet  he  made  a  long  journey  through  a  strange  land  in  order  to 
attend  the  meeting  of  synod,  and  in  spite  of  his  worn  garments  he 
was  in  his  place  in  that  body.  Nor  were  the  rough  frontier  regions 
of  Missouri  alone  in  leaving  their  missionaries  thus  to  suffer. 
There  was  a  man,  now  aged  and  infirm,  who  traveled  in  West  Ten- 
nessee in  1846  holding  meetings  among  a  prosperous  people.  For 
six  months  he  preached  nearly  every  day,  and  more  than  three  hun- 
dred persons  professed  conversion  at  his  meetings.  In  all  that  time 
he  received  no  compensation,  either  in  clothing  or  in  money.  A 
rich  elder  said  to  him,  "Go  down  to  the  shoe  shop  and  get  your 
boots  mended."  The  young  man  went,  but  having  no  money  he 
borrowed  tools  and  tried  as  best  he  could  to  do  his  own  repairing. 
He  adopted  the  old  programme  of  saying  nothing  about  money 
or  pay  of  any  kind  to  anybody.  The  Cumberland  Presbyterian 
church  had  its  beginning  under  this  mistaken  plan,  and  the  exam- 
ple of  ' '  the  fathers ' '  is  still  the  argument  wdiich  is  everywhere 
used  by  those  church  members  wdio  want  their  pastor  to  serve 
them  for  naught. 

We  must  remember  how  scattered  and  sparse  were  the  settle- 
ments in  all  the  new  territories  before  we  can  appreciate  the  vic- 
tories won  in  these  early  meetings.  An  account  of  a  camp-meet- 
ing held  in  Missouri  in  182 1  will  illustrate  this  point.  It  is  taken 
from  the  published  biography  of  the  Rev.  A.  A.  Young,  who  was 
one  of  our  early  preachers  in  that  State:  The  people  in  this 
sparsely  settled  region  (now  Saline  County)  had  no  Sabbath-schools, 
no  churches,  no  preaching,  no  pra3'er-meetings.  They  determined 
to  secure  some  preachers  to  hold  a  camp-meeting.  Their  efforts 
were  successful,  and  they  selected  a  spot  about  equally  distant  from 
several  settlements,  but  five  miles  from  the  nearest  house.  When 
the  camps  were  erected  and  all  the  population  of  the  adjacent  set- 


Chapter  XIX.]  MISSOURI   AND  ARKANSAS.  185 

tlemeiits  were  gathered  together  there  were  just  twenty-five  persons 
present.  Yet  that  meeting  was  perhaps  as  fruitful  in  the  long  run 
as  some  in  later  times  in  which  the  converts  are  counted  by  the 
hundred.  At  that  meeting  A.  A.  Young,  whose  after  life  in  the 
ministry  was  greatly  blessed,  found  the  preaching  just  what  John 
Crawford,  of  Illinois,  found  it  a  few  years  before.  The  mask  was 
torn  off"  his  heart,  and  he  saw  himself  helpless  and  ruined  and*  con- 
demned before  God,  and  cried  earnestly  for  help  to  Jesus,  who  alone 
could  save,  nor  did  he  cry  in  vain. 

The  Rev.  Daniel  Patton,  who  was  one  of  the  most  useful  Cum- 
berland Presbyterian  pioneers  in  Missouri,  is  still  living,  and 
though  now  over  eighty  years  of  age,  he  still  takes  his  horse  and 
his  saddle-bags  and  goes  out  on  an  old-time  circuit  as  an  itinerant 
missionar}^  in  that  field.  He  rode  the  circuit  in  South  Alabama 
in  182 1.  His  history  of  our  church  in  Missouri  is  before  me.  He 
begins  with  Barnett  Presb}'tery,  which  was  organized  in  April, 
1828,  at  Lexington,  Missouri.  The  ministers  composing  this  pres- 
b)'tery  were  Samuel  King,  R.  D.  Morrow,  Daniel  Patton,  and  Henry 
Renick.  Under  its  care  were  Clemens  Means  and  William  Horn, 
candidates,  and  Robert  Renick,  a  licentiate.  Of  the  early  work 
of  this  presbytery  Patton  says: 

To  know  man  perfectly  you  must  see  him  under  the  pressure  of 
the  varied  phases  of  human  life.  You  must  see  the  pioneer  preacher 
in  his  log-cabin  built  by  his  own  hands.  In  frontier  settlements  in  an 
unbroken  wilderness  of  more  than  five  hundred  miles  north  and  one 
thousand  miles  west,  our  first  Missouri  preachers  with  their  families 
found  their  homes.  In  a  few  years  other  settlements  are  formed 
beyond.  The  cry  comes  up  from  the  new  settlements,  Come  over  and 
help  us.  To  answer  this  cry  wide-spread  prairies  without  roads  and 
deep  creeks  without  bridges  had  to  be  crossed.  None  of  these  things 
deter  the  pioneer  preacher. 

The  same  v^^riter  gives  a  sketch  of  the  early  preachers  of  Mis- 
souri.    Of  Samuel  King  he  says: 

He  was  preaching  in  my  father's  house,  in  Bedford  Countv,  Ten- 
nessee, to  a  crowded  company,  when  my  father  professed  faith  in  the 
blessed  Savior.  I  saw  father  passing  through  the  crowd  clapping  his 
hands  and  praising  God,  and  many  others  doing  the  same.  I  was  then 
eleven  years  old.     I  record  this  incident  not  only  as  a  grateful  remem-. 


i86  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.        [Period  ii. 

brance  of  the  past,  but  to  present  an  instance  of  the  power  manifested 
in  all  the  public  ministrations  of  Samuel  King.  He  was  pre-eminently 
a  man  of  prayer.  He  lived  more  on  his  knees  than  any  man  I  ever 
knew,  hence  his  power  in  the  pulpit.  I  believe  that  God  gave  him 
more  seals  to  his  ministry  than  to  any  other  man  since  Whiteficld's 
day,  1  heard  Finis  Ewing  say  more  than  once,  "I  would  rather 
preach  after  any  other  man."  He  said  it  seemed  to  him  that  King 
alwitys  said  all  that  could  be  said  to  profit,  and  the  state  of  feeling  was 
so  high  that  it  would  only  be  lowered  by  his  effort.  I  am  sure  no  man 
was  a  better  judge  of  preaching  than  Finis  Ewing. 

It  was  Patton  himself  who  was  preaching  at  Bee  Creek  camp- 
meeting,  Missouri,  when  the  people  rose  to  their  feet  and  uncon- 
sciously pressed  toward  the  pulpit  till  they  were  densely  crowded 
around  the  preacher.  There  was  no  more  preaching  for  two  days, 
"altar  work"  taking  up  all  the  time. 

Another  glimpse  of  Patton' s  work  is  found  in  his  history  of 
Bamett  Presbytery.     He  says: 

The  writer  husked  corn  which  grew  from  the  soil  where  Rich- 
mond, the  county  seat  of  Ray  County,  now  stands.  He  helped  raise 
the  first  log-cabins  to  make  it  a  town.  He  made  the  first  wagon  road 
runnino-  north  from  Richmond,  crossing  the  west  fork  of  Crooked 
River  on  his  land  one  mile  from  town.  He  drove  the  first  four-horse 
team  that  crossed  this  stream  after  digging  the  bank  to  ascend.  This 
road  was  for  many  years  the  highway  of  emigration  north.  As  much 
of  this  northward  travel  was  directly  by  my  cabin  I  was  much  ques- 
tioned as  to  the  country  beyond.  I  entertained  many  weary  travelers, 
always  free.  You  see  by  these  means  many  formed  my  acquaintance, 
so  that  I  was  known  to  almost  all  the  new  settlements  north.  As  soon 
as  little  settlements  were  formed  It  was  but  natural  for  them  to  ask  me 
to  come  out  and  preach  for  them.  I  well  remember  my  first  tour  to 
the  forks  of  Grand  River.  Some  of  my  old  Ray  County  friends  had 
settled  there  and  thereabouts.  The  presbytery  had  sent  out  William 
Clark,  a  good  young  man,  just  licensed  to  preach,  to  form  a  sort  of  cir- 
cuit to  suit  the  frontier  settlements.  I  was  to  follow,  preach,  and 
administer  ordinances  as  needed.  The  first  day's  travel  I  swam  two 
considerable  streams  on  the  back  of  my  horse,  and  then  steered  for  a 
"deadening"  in  a  little  grove  of  timber.  I  found  a  kind  family  in  a 
new  cabin,  nature's  floor  and  nature's  fare,  fat  venison  and  good  cheer. 
The  next  day  with  diflliculty  I  found  the  place  for  preaching.  Mr. 
Clark  had  preached  in  the  forenoon  and  the  people  were  gathering  for 
the  three  o'clock  service. 


Chapter  XIX.]  MISSOURI   AND   ARKANSAS.  187 

In  a  little  grove  between  Shoal  Creek  and  Grand  River,  Patton 
held  a  camp-meeting.  He  does  not  give  the  date,  but  he  says  of 
the  meeting: 

I  was  conducted  to  the  place  by  an  old  hunter  who  knew  the  coun- 
try and  led  the  wav  "by  course,"  as  we  used  to  travel  in  the  unbroken 
wilds.  My  guide  and  myself  were  the  first  to  reach  the  place.  I  exam- 
ined the  ground  with  a  feeling  of  interest  which  no  man  can  realize 
who  has  not  been  placed  in  a  like  position.  The  lonely  place,  the 
hastily-raised  pulpit,  the  rude,  narrow  "slab"  seats,  a  narrow  path  cut 
through  the  brush  to  a  good  spring  at  the  base  of  the  hill,  called  to  my 
mind  Isaiah's  prediction  of  the  gospel's  spread  and  conquests,  "The 
wilderness  and  solitary  places  shall  be  glad  for  them:  yea,  the  desert 
shall  rejoice  and  blossom  as  the  rose."  Strange  but  true,  whilst  I  call 
up  the  glorious  scenes  of  the  past  I  live  over  the  emotions  of  soul  of 
which  I  certainly  was  the  subject  at  that  time!  I  involuntarily  and 
most  earnestly  asked,  Will  this  solitary  place  be  made  glad  to-day 
because  of  thy  presence,  O  God  ?  The  answer  in  my  poor  heart  was, 
It  will.     And  so  it  was. 

Most  of  Mr.  Patton' s  history  belongs  to  a  later  period. 

Some  facts  recorded  in  the  history  of  the  Cumberland  Presbyte- 
rian church  in  Missouri,  written  by  the  Rev.  P.  G.  Rea,  are  here 
given.  Jacob  Ish,  a  Cumberland  Presbyterian  elder,  was  the  first 
man  who  drove  a  wagon  into  Big  Bottom,  near  the  place  where 
Glasgow,  Missouri,  now  stands.  This  was  in  1816.  New  Leba- 
non church  was  organized  by  John  Carnahan  in  the  house  of  Alex- 
ander Sloan,  father  of  the  Rev.  Robert  Sloan,  in  1820.  Among 
the  children  and  grandchildren  of  the  members  of  the  first  session 
of  this  church  there  have  been  twelve  preachers.  It  was  here  that 
the  school  of  Ewing  and  Morrow  was  located. 

Where  pioneer  settlers  in  the  wilderness  were  destitute  of  the 
gospel,  there  the  early  Cumberland  Presbyterian  preachers  preferred 
going.  In  a  great  many  instances  they  declined  to  organize 
churches  in  North  Carolina,  South  Carolina,  Virginia,  and  New 
York,  saying  that  every  preacher  our  people  had  was  needed  in  the 
West  by  those  who  had  no  minister  of  any  church  to  break  to  them 
the  bread  of  life.  That  there  was  no  sectarian  ambition  among  our 
people  then  is  not  asserted,  but  that  there  was  far  less  of  it  then 
than  now  can  be  maintained. 


i88  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.        [Period  ii. 

A  pioneer  scene  in  Missouri  is  here  sketched.  When  Mr.  Will- 
iam Blackwell,  a  Cumberland  Presbyterian  elder,  moved  to  Mis- 
souri, in  1827,  and  settled  in  the  wilderness,  wolves  and  Indians 
were  no  rarity  in  his  neighborhood.  In  1829  ^^r.  Blackwell  was  liv- 
ing in  what  was  then  Randolph  County,  when  tidings  of  an  Indian 
invasion  and  of  murders  in  the  region  where  Kirksville  now  stands 
reached  him.  Joining  a  band  of  volunteers  he  hurried  to  the 
relief  of  the  invaded  settlements.  A  battle  followed.  The  whites 
fought  fiercely,  but  were  compelled  to  retreat.  In  the  retreat  IMn 
Blackwell  came  uj)  with  a  wounded  man  afoot.  He  placed  this 
man  upon  his  own  horse,  and  continued  his  retreat.  Farther  on 
he  came  upon  another  comrade  who  had  stopped  from  exhaustion. 
While  Mr.  Blackwell  was  trying  to  help  this  comrade  on,  a  shot 
from  the  Indians  killed  the  poor  fellow,  and  Blackwell  continued 
his  retreat.  Farther  on  he  found  another  comrade  lying  fast  under 
a  dead  horse  vdiich  had  been  shot,  and  although  the  Indians  were 
coming,  he  waited  to  extricate  him,  and  then  again  continued  his 
retreat.  His  rescued  comrade  was  soon  shot  down,  but  INIr.  Black- 
well  escaped.  It  was  for  the  sake  of  such  men  and  their  families 
that  our  first  preachers  longed  to  labor  in  these  pioneer  fields. 

Mr.  Blackwell  helped  to  organize  the  first  congregation  of  Cum- 
berland Presbyterians  in  that  part  of  the  country.  The  preacher 
who  held  the  meeting  out  of  which  that  church  grew  was  the  Rev. 
James  Dysart.     The  church  was  called  Liberty. 

While  the  French  title  to  what  is  now  Arkansas  was  transferred 
to  the  United  States  in  1803,  yet  Indian  claims  and  Indian  inhab- 
itants long  interposed  other  obstacles  to  its  settlement  by  white 
people.  Arkansas  had  its  separate  organization  as  a  Territory'  in 
1819,  and  was  admitted  into  the  Union  as  a  State  in  1836.  Before 
the  organization  of  its  territorial  government,  and  while  the  In- 
dians were  still  in  the  land,  the  country  furnished  a  retreat  to  those 
hardy  and  daring  young  men  who  loved  adventure  and  wanted  to 
secure  good  lands  in  advance  of  the  inevitable  white  settlements. 
Several  of  these  had  young  wives  as  daring  as  their  husbands ;  and 
there  yet  live  old  ladies  who  on  the  long  winter  evenings  tell  the 
throng  of  happy  children  that  gather  around  them  in  their  now 
prosperous  and  elegant  homes  about  their  wonderful  adventures. 


Chapter  XIX.]  MISSOURI    AND   ARKANSAS.  189 

In  1811'  some  families  of  Cumberland  Presbyterians,  converts 
of  the  great  revival,  moved  to  Arkansas.  James  and  Jacob  Pyatt 
and  their  wives,  and  two  young  Carnahans,  James  and  Samuel — 
sons  of  John  Carnahan,  the  preacher — embarked  in  a  flatboat  and 
floated  down  the  Tennessee,  the  Ohio,  and  the  Mississippi,  to  the 
mouth  of  Arkansas  River.  Though  they  were  all  Kentuckians, 
yet  it  was  from  northern  Alabama  that  they  emigrated.  I^ike 
many  others,  they  had  rushed  to  Alabama  when  some  of  the  Indian 
titles  were  extinguished,  only  to  find  others  still  in  force,  and  to  be 
driven  off  as  intruders.  It  took  them  from  January  to  May  to 
make  this  journey  to  the  mouth  of  the  Arkansas  River.  Then 
they  went  up  that  river  in  a  keel-boat  to  Arkansas  Post — the  oldest 
settlement  in  the  territory.  Here  they  expected  to  make  their 
homes,  but  they  soon  found  that  the  only  religion  there  was 
Roman  Catholicism.  The  population  was  French,  Indians,  and  a 
few  Americans.  Things  did  not  suit  them,  so  they  determined  to 
go  farther  up  the  river.  In  1812  they  went  past  the  spot  where 
the  city  of  Little  Rock  now  stands  to  a  bluff  fifteen  miles  above, 
where  they  established  their  homes.  The  name  of  the  place  was 
Crystal  Hill. 

The  same  year  (18 12)  the  father  of  the  two  Carnahans  moved 
to  Arkansas.  He  had  been  riding  the  circuit  as  a  licensed  exhorter 
before.  In  the  house  of  Jacob  Pyatt  he  preached  the  first  Prot- 
estant sermon  ever  preached  in  Arkansas  territory.  In  those  days 
our  people  licensed  a  man  twice:  first  as  exhorter,  or  lay  evano-elist, 
and,  if  "he  purchased  to  himself  a  good  degree,"  they  afterward 
licensed  him  as  a  probationer  for  the  full  work  of  the  ministry. 
At  the  meeting  of  the  Cumberland  Presbytery  in  October,  1812, 
John  Carnahan  was  ordered  to  form  a  circuit  on  the  Arkansas 
River,  "among  the  people  where  he  lived. "^  When  the  synod 
was  formed  (1813),  Carnahan  was  placed  on  the  roll  of  Elk  Presby- 
tery. He  attended  its  meetings  regularly  till  a  presbytery  was 
organized  in  his  own  field.  In  1814  he  was  licensed  in  the  regular 
way.  3  The  presbytery  ordered  him  back  to  his  old  circuit  on  the 
Arkansas  River,  and  also  addressed  a  circular  letter  to  the  people 

'The  Pyatt  MSB.     Secured  for  me  by  President  F.  R.  Earle. 

=  Minutes  in  the  S>jiarterly,  1S7S,  p.  496.        3  Elk  Minutes,  Vol.  I.,  p.  S. 


igo  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.        [Period  ii. 

of  those  settlements,  commending  Mr.  Carnahan  to  them  as  an 
excellent  man  and  a  worthy  minister.  This  solitary  standard- 
bearer  determined  to  make  this  new  country  his  permanent  home, 
and  for  nine  }ears  he  was  the  only  Cumberland  Presby^rian 
preacher  in  all  that  field.  In  October,  1816,'  the  pioneers  peti- 
tioned for  his  ordination,  and  their  petition  v/as  granted.  During 
all  the  years  of  his  lonely  toil  on  the  frontier,  he  was  in  the  habit 
of  attending  every  meeting  of  his  presbytery.  The  place  of  meet- 
ing was  often  more  than  five  hundred  miles  from  his  home,  and  he 
traveled  all  the  distance  on  horseback.  Once  the  presbytery  kept 
him  six  mouths  in  Tennessee  and  Alabama  for  his  health's  sake, 
and  then  sent  him  back  to  Arkansas. 

It  is  claimed  in  papers  left  by  the  Pyatt  family  that  Carnahan 
held  the  first  sacramental  meeting  ever  held  by  Protestants  on 
Arkansas  soil.  In  all  the  western  territories  opened  up  between 
1800  and  1840  Cumberland  Presbyterians  were  pioneers  in  gos- 
pel work.  God  raised  them  up  for  frontier  missions.  Carnahan' s 
sacramental  meeting  was  at  the  house  of  one  of  the  Pyatts,  and  he 
baptized  a  daughter  of  the  family.  Then  there  were  five  persons 
who  joined  him  in  celebrating  the  Lord's  Supper.  This  was 
twenty  years  before  Arkansas  was  a  State,  and  three  years  before 
it  had  a  territorial  government.  Away  in  this  wilderness  the  Car- 
nahans  and  the  Pyatts  had  erected  the  family  altar,  and  now  they 
provided  also  for  the  ordinances  of  God's  house.  These  families 
were  noted  for  liberality.  There  was  but  little  money  circulating 
in  any  of  the  pioneer  settlements,  but  where  the  heart  is  right  lib- 
eral souls  will  find  wa^^s  of  doing  liberal  deeds.  In  1823  Pyatt's 
little  boy,  seeing  Reuben  Burrow  nearly  shoeless,  made  the  mis- 
sionary a  pair  of  shoes  with  his  own  hands.  The  pioneers  had  to 
perform  such  tasks  as  the  making  of  their  own  shoes. 

Another  incident  is  here  given  illustrating  the  character,  habits, 
and  adventures  of  these  pioneers.  Jacob  Pyatt  kept  a  ferr}--boat. 
One  day  there  came  a  weary  pedestrian,  stating  that  he  had  met 
with  misfortunes  and  had  no  money  to  pay  his  ferriage.  Pyatt 
took  him  over  the  river,  and  kept  him  at  his  own  house  a  week; 
then  he  mounted  him  on  one  of  his  horses,  and,  sending  a  boy  • 
'Minutes  of  Elk  Presbytery,  Vol.  I.,  p.  25. 


Chapter  XIX.]  MISSOURI   AND   ARKANSAS.  I9I 

along  with  him  to  bring-  the  animal  back,  thus  conveyed  him 
home  to  Little  Rock.  That  young  man  was  a  nephew  of  the  Rev. 
Thomas  Calhoun.  He  graduated  at  Princeton  College,  Kentucky, 
and  finally  became  governor  of  Arkansas. 

Crystal  Hill  settlement  was  a  center  for  Cumberland  Presbyte- 
rian immigrants.  Among  others  the  Blairs,  two  of  whom  afterward 
became  ministers,  made  that  neighborhood  their  home.  John  Car- 
nahan  was  still  with  them,  devoting  himself  to  the  work  of  an  evan- 
gelist, and  traveling  all  the  way  to  Tennessee  every  six  months  to 
attend  the  meetings  of  his  presbyter>^ 

After  a  few  years  Carnahan's  membership  was  transferred  to  the 
McGee  Presbytery,  which  included  Arkansas  in  its  bounds.  That 
body  became  deeply  concerned  about  the  organization  of  a  new 
presbytery  in  Mr.  Carnahan's  field.  As  there  was  a  prospect  for  a 
supply  of  candidates  for  the  ministry  from  that  territory,  the  pres- 
bytery determined  to  hold  an  "intermediate"  meeting  in  Arkansas. 
The  distance  was  great,  and  much  of  the  intervening  country  an 
uninhabited  wilderness.  The  route  was  partly  through  Indian 
neighborhoods,  and  none  of  the  rivers  had  either  bridges  or  ferries. 
The  young  and  active  men  of  the  presbytery  were  therefore  to  be 
pressed  into  this  distant  mission.  It  has  already  been  noticed  that 
Reuben  Burrow,  then  a  candidate,  and  R.  D.  King,  then  a  licentiate, 
were  traveling  as  missionaries  in  Missouri.  Both  were  at  the  meet- 
ing of  McGee  Presbytery  in  1823,.  though  King  was  sick  in  bed. 
The  presbytery,  however,  licensed  Burrow  and  ordained  King  in 
order  to  send  them  to  Arkansas.  King,  though  very  sick,  was 
held  up,  a  good  lady  plying  camphor  in  the  meantime,  while  they 
ordained  him.  Then  the  moderator  resigned,  and  King  was  chosen 
moderator  in  his  stead,  so  that  he  might  preside  at  the  intermediate 
meeting  of  the  presbytery.  It  was  five  hundred  miles  to  the  place 
of  meeting,  and  one  third  of  the  way  was  a  wilderness.  Most  of  the 
nights  had  to  be  spent  without  shelter,  but  King,  Long,  and  Bur- 
row were  with  Camahan  at  the  appointed  place  on  the  appointed 
day. 

The  presbytery  at  this  intermediate  session  received  three  can- 
didates for  the  ministry.  Two  of  these  were  James  H.  Black  and 
J.  M.  Blair,  men  whose  names  were  afterward  well  known  through- 


192  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.        [Period  11. 

out  the  Arkansas  churches.  After  the  close  of  the  meeting,  which 
was  held  at  the  house  of  John  Craig,  on  White  River,  Mr.  Long 
returned  to  Missouri,  while  Burrow  and  King  remained  to  do  mis- 
sion work  in  Arkansas.  These  missionaries  held  two  camp-meet- 
ings that  same  year  in  Mr.  Craig's  neighborhood,  both  of  which 
were  greatly  blessed.  Carnahan  and  King  went  to  the  Arkansas 
River,  while  Burrow  formed  a  circuit  among  the  White  River  set- 
tlements. 

In  King's  autobiography  he  says  there  were  grown  men  at  his 
meetings  who  had  never  heard  a  prayer,  much  less  a  sermon.  The 
settlements  were  few  and  far  between.  The  largest  crowd  of  peo- 
ple which  even  a  camp-meeting  could  draw  together  might  possi- 
bly reach,  in  extreme  cases,  a  hundred  and  fifty  persons.  Great 
gaps  of  unpeopled  wilderness  stretched  between  the  settlements; 
and  of  the  one  hundred  and  fifty  persons  who  might  possibly  be  at 
a  camp-meeting,  some  had  to  come  from  a  distance  of  more  than  a 
hundred  miles.  When  forty  or  fifty  converts  are  reported  at  one 
camp-meeting,  we  are  to  understand  that  from  fifty  to  eighty  per 
cent,  of  the  entire  assembly  were  converted. 

I^ing  and  Carnahan  being  ordained  ministers,  took  special 
charge  of  the  camp-meetings.  The  camps  were  built  of  rails,  and 
covered  with  bushes  or  the  leafy  boughs  of  trees.  The  preaching 
places  were  not  covered,  except  the  stand  or  pulpit,  which  had 
over  it  a  shed  of  leafy  branches.  In  these  rude  .frontier  tabernacles 
God  was  pleased  to  display  his  converting  grace,  and  many  a 
church  grew  up  where  these  rude  encampments  were  erected. 

After  several  months  of  circuit  work  Burrow  joined  the  camp- 
meeting  corps  at  Fort  Smith;  but  before  he  reached  the  meeting 
he  was  attacked  with  chills.  The  first  two  camp-meetings  which 
he  attended  were  crowned  with  gracious  results;  but  Burrow  grew 
worse,  until  he  was  unable  to  preach,  and  finally  became  delirious 
with  fever.  Then  Carnahan  was  also  taken  with  fever.  King 
found  himself  alone.  Another  camp  -  meeting,  one  hundred  and 
fifty  miles  farther  down  the  river,  had  been  appointed.  Neither 
Burrow  nor  Carnahan  was  able  to  sit  up,  but  King  was  not  to  be 
thwarted.  He  bought  a  very  large  canoe,  or  pirogue.  In  this  he 
placed  dfied  prairie  grass  for  beds,  and  put  a  cover  on  bows  over 


Chapter  XIX.]  MISSOURI   AND   ARKANSAS.  I93 

the  beds.  He  then  laid  in  a  supply  of  provisions,  hired  young 
men  to  help  row,  and  others  to  take  the  horses  through  by  land, 
and,  placing  his  two  sick  brethren  feet  to  feet  in  the  pirogue, 
started  on  his  journey.  The  second  day  all  the  provisions  were 
found  to  be  spoiled,  and  they  made  the  rest  of  their  journey  without 
food.  ,They,  however,  reached  the  appointed  place  in  time  for  the 
camp-meeting.  Neither  Burrow  nor  Carnahan  was  able  to  assist. 
Both,  indeed,  were  delirious.'  One  day,  after  King  had  preached 
on  the  text  "the  harvest  is  past,"  a  lady  in  the  congregation 
repeated  the  text  and  fell  shrieking  to  the  ground.  Others  in- 
stantly fell;  then  others,  until  all  over  the  congregation  prostrate 
penitents  were  pleading  for  mercy.  For  several  days  King  had 
felt  his  frame  burning  with  fever;  but  as  both  his  comrades  were 
prostrate,  he  determined  not  to  acknowledge  that  he  was  sick. 
Standing  in  the  midst  of  this  throng  of  weeping  sinners,  and  tiy- 
ing  to  instruct  them  in  the  way  of  salvation,  he  fainted  and  fell  to 
the  ground.  He  was  taken  up  and  borne  to  one  of  the  camps, 
bled,  and  put  to  bed  in  an  unconscious  state.  There  was  no  more 
preaching  at  that  meeting,  and  neither  of  the  missionaries  was  ever 
able  to  tell  how  the  meeting  closed.  They  were  both  carried  along 
with  Carnahan  to  private  houses.  King  remained  delirious  eleven 
days,  and  kept  his  bed  five  weeks. 

The  hardships  of  the  journey  of  these  two  missionaries  back  to 
Missouri  may  be  taken  as  a  type  of  what  our  pioneer  preachers 
endured.  We  have  a  full  account  of  this  journey  from  both  King 
and  Burrow,  and  the  narrative  is  here  placed  before  the  reader  with 
the  greater  pleasure  because  both  of  these  missionaries  were  among 
the  very  noblest  specimens  of  true  manhood  that  any  church  in  any 
age  ever  enrolled  among  its  heroes. 

Dr.  Burrow  was  a  man  of  great  physical  power.  He  had  a 
compact,  heavy,  muscular  frame,  and  heavy  eyebrows.  His  black 
hair  grew  low  down  on  his  forehead,  and  his  accent  betrayed  just  a 
little  his  German  extraction.  The  working  of  his  mind  was  like 
the  heavy  and  powerful  movements  of  some  ponderous  machine, 

'  In  this  account  of  the  river  trip  I  follow  the  King  manuscript.  Burrow's  ts 
slightly  different;  but  Burrow  was  delirious  or  unconscious  throughout  the  trip,  and 
wrote  from  memory  long  afterward. 


194  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.        [Period  ii. 

His  eye  and  countenance  slowly  kindled  as  he  advanced  in  his  ser- 
mons, until  at  last  his  homely  face  grew  beautiful  with  the  glow 
of  intellect  set  on  fire  by  the  Holy  Ghost. 

King  was  a  fine  specimen  of  the  pioneer  preacher.  Trained  in 
pioneer  work  by  the  Rev.  Samuel  King,  his  father,  and  all  his  life 
keeping  on  the  frontier,  he  delighted  in  hardships  and  sufferings 
for  Jesus  with  something  of  the  same  spirit  which  the  first  century 
witnessed  in  those  who  earnestly  coveted  the  martyr's  crown.  He 
closed  his  career,  at  last,  on  the  Texas  frontier,  leaving  it  as  his 
dying  testimony  that,  if  he  had  his  life  to  live  over  again,  he  would 
wish  it  to  be  just  the  kind  of  life  which  he  had  already  passed 
through. 

When  the  time  came  to  go  back  to  Missouri,  King  was  still 
unable  to  travel,  and  Burrow  set  out  without  him.  There  was  an 
appointment  for  a  camp-meeting  on  the  road  one  hundred  miles 
distant.  Eighteen  young  people,  most  of  whom  were  unconverted, 
mounted  their  horses  and  accompanied  Burrow  to  this  meeting, 
and  almost  all  of  these  souls  were  there  blessed.  After  this  camp- 
meeting  Burrow  resumed  his  journey.  He  was  now  alone,  and 
what  was  worse,  his  horse  was  sick ;  but  we  have  already  seen  that 
he  never  allowed  such  things  to  interfere  with  his  work.  Placing 
his  saddle-bags  on  his  shoulder,  and  driving  his  sick  horse  before 
him,  he  pursued  his  journey.  Then  his  horse  died,  and  he  plodded 
on  afoot,  having  an  appointment  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  ahead. 
It  was  often  from  twenty-five  to  thirty  miles  from  one  house  to  the 
next.  How  he  crossed  the  rivers  without  a  horse,  in  a  land  where 
there  were  neither  bridges  nor  ferries,  and  where  the  settlements 
were  twenty-five  miles  apart,  is  left  to  conjecture. 

He  reached  St.  Michaels,  Missouri,  in  time  for  his  appointment, 
and  there  with  great  joy  he  grasped  by  the  hand  his  beloved  fellow- 
laborer,  the  Rev.  W.  C.  Long.  But  the  end  was  not  yet.  The 
presbytery  was  to  meet  at  Finis  Ewing's  church,  near  Booneville, 
Missouri.  He  and  Long,  placing  their  baggage  on  Long's  horse, 
both  started  afoot.  On  the  way  Mr.  Burrow  was  again  taken  very 
sick,  and  was  unable  to  proceed.  Not  willing  to  miss  a  meeting 
of  presbyter}',  Mr.  Long,  although  he  believed  Burrow  to  be  in  a 
dying  condition,  continued  his  journey.     But  Burrow's  work  was 


Chapter  XIX.]  MISSOURI   AND   ARKANSAS.  195 

not  done.  He  recovered  partially,  borrowed  a  horse,  and  was  at 
the  appointed  place  in  time  for  the  presbyterial  meeting.  Being 
unable  to  sit  up,  he  was  carried  to  Finis  Ewing's  house,  and  cared 
for  until  his  recovery  by  that  queen  of  nurses,  "Aunt  Peggy" 
Ewing. 

In  the  meantime  King  recovered  sufficiently  to  sit  on  his  horse. 
Worn  with  sickness,  and  all  alone,  he  set  out  on  the  long  journey 
"to  presbytery."  His  first  stretch  of  houseless  wilderness  was 
thirty  miles  across.  It  was  dark  when  he  closed  that  dreary  ride, 
and  he  was  burning  with  fever.  At  every  house  he  was  urged  not 
to  try  to  travel  while  in  that  condition;  but,  says  he,  "I  was  going 
to  presbytery. ' '  The  fifth  night  the  family  where  he  stayed  were 
all  sick — no  one  able  to  sit  up.  King  himself  was  in  a  raging 
fever,  and  too  weak  to  climb  up  to  the  loft  where  the  fodder  was 
kept,  but  he  managed  to  give  his  horse  some  corn ;  and  then,  being 
wet  to  the  skin  from  rain  and  crossing  rivers,  he  spread  his  blanket 
before  the  fire  and  passed  the  night  in  sleep.  Toward  morning  he 
awoke  greatly  improved,  his  fever  all  gone.  He  says  that  he  felt 
willing  to  die  for  the  sake  of  reaching  that  meeting  of  presbytery, 
and  there  representing  the  interests  of  the  destitute  people  along 
the  banks  of  the  White  and  the  Arkansas  rivers.  Indeed,  by  some 
means  the  report  had  reached  the  members  of  McGee  Presbytery 
that  he  was  dead;  and  when  he  entered  the  house  in  which  the 
presbyter>^  was  sitting,  the  Rev.  R.  D.  Morrow  was  on  his  feet  read- 
ing a  preamble  and  resolutions  in  relation  to  the  death  of  their 
beloved  brother,  the  Rev.  R.  D.  King.  When  they  saw  him  enter, 
the  whole  presbytery  rushed  to  meet  him  with  tears  of  joy  and 
exclamations  of  thanksgiving  to  God. 

The  Rev.  Hiram  McDaniel,  of  Kentucky,  spent  the  winter  of 
that  same  year  (1823)  as  missionary  in  Arkansas.  He  found  trials, 
too.  Once  when  he  swam  the  Arkansas  River  his  horse  was  all 
covered  with  ice  before  he  reached  the  farther  shore.  Such  things 
came  in  as  a  matter  of  course  in  the  work  of  these  pioneer  preach- 
ers, not  only  in  that  day  but  for  many  years  afterward. 

On  the  fourth  Thursday  in  May,  1824,  according  to  the  order 
of  the  synod  at  its  preceding  session,  the  Arkansas  Presbytery  was 
constituted  in  the  house  of  John  Craig,  in  Independence  County. 


196  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.        [Period  11. 

Robert  Stone,  one  of  the  men  appointed  to  assist  in  the  organiza- 
tion, was  absent.  The  ministers  who  were  present  were  John  Car- 
nahan,  W.  C.  Long,  and  William  Henry.  They  lived  at  great  dis- 
tances from  each  other,  but  that  was  the  usual  state  of  things  in 
the  new  presbyteries.  They  at  once  turned  their  attention  to  rais- 
ing up  a  home  supply  of  preachers.  There  were  four  candidates 
for  the  ministry  to  begin  with.  Prayer,  beseeching  God  to  call 
more  men  to  preach  the  gospel,  made  part  of  the  business  of  every 
meeting  of  that  little  presbytery  in  the  wilderness. 

At  the  time  for  the  second  meeting  of  this  presbytery,  in  the 
fall  of  1824,  3.  quorum  was  not  present,  but  Andrew  Buchanan  pre- 
sented himself  to  the  committee  as  a  candidate  for  the  ministry. 
He  afterward  became  a  leading  preacher,  and  his  name  fills 
a  large  place  to-day  in  the  history  of  our  church  in  Arkansas. 
From  1824  until  he  was  an  old  man  he  was  an  active  missionary 
among  the  Arkansas  people.  An  old  lady  who  long  knew  him 
and  held  him  in  very  high  esteem  said  to  me :  ' '  He  did  n'  t  preach 
at  all;  he  just  talked  as  if  he  were  speaking  to  little  children,  and 
made  every  thing  so  plain.  But  I  tell  you  Uncle  John '  preached." 
A  natural,  simple  manner  was  a  rare  thing  in  those  days  of  pulpit 
thunder. 

In  the  spring  of  1825  ^^^^  Arkansas  Presbyter>^  again  failed  to 
hold  its  regular  session,  as  no  quorum  was  present.  The  following 
autumn  a  similar  failure  occurred  for  the  same  reason.  Several 
probationers  were  ready  for  licensure.  It  was  a  distressing  case, 
and  was  brought  before  the  synod.  The  synod  sought  to  remedy 
the  trouble  by  extending  the  bounds  of  Arkansas  Presbyter>'  far 
into  Missouri,  so  as  to  include  the  homes  of  several  preachers  of 
that  State.  A  quorum  was  thus  secured,  and  licensures  and  ordina- 
tions followed. 

By  this  extension  of  the  bounds  of  Arkansas  Presbyter}^  several 
names  were  placed  on  its  roll  which  do  not  belong  to  the  history  of 
the  cliurch  in  that  State.  Robert  Sloan,  however,  who  lived  and 
died  in  Missouri,  and  who  for  a  while  held  his  membership  in 
Arkansas  Presbytery,  did  labor  nobly  as  a  missionarv^  among  the 

'The  Rev.  John  Buchanan  was  familiarly  spoken  of  as  "Uncle  John,"  and  the 
Rev.  Andrew  Buchanan  as  "  Uncle  Buck." 


Chapter  XIX.]  MISSOURI   AND  ARKANSAS.  197 

people  of  Arkansas.  Once  while  traveling  in  that  territory  his 
horse  died;  but  he  was  more  fortunate  in  this  emergency  than 
Reuben  Burrow  had  been  in  similar  circumstances.  The  people 
remounted  him,  and  he  went  on  his  way  rejoicing.  Judge  Ewing's 
excellent  little  volume  of  "Historical  Memoirs"  contains  a  biog- 
raphy of  Mr.  Sloan. 

At  the  meeting  of  Arkansas  Presbytery  in  the  spring  of  1826, 
Jesse  M.  Blair,  J.  H.  Black,  W.  W.  Stevenson,  and  Andrew  Buch- 
anan were  all  licensed  to  preach.  In  the  fall  meeting  that  year 
J.  A.  Cornwall  and  W.  W.  Stevenson  were  ordained.  Black  and 
Blair  were  ordained  the  following  spring.  In  the  records  of  this 
presbytery  for  1827  there  is  an  item  characteristic  of  the  men  and 
the  times.  The  Rev.  James  H.  Black,  who  had  been  appointed  to 
one  of  the  oldest  circuits,  reported  his  failure  to  carry  out  the 
appointment,  giving  this  as  his  reason:  a  Macedonian  cry  from  the 
new  settlements  on  Red  River,  wliere  the  people  had  no  preaching 
of  any  kind,  had  greatly  touched  his  heart.  He  therefore  left  his 
old  circuit,  where  there  were  some  other  preachers  of  other  churches, 
and  spent  his  whole  time  in  the  newer  and  more  destitute  field. 
He  said  the  success  of  that  work  had  convinced  him  that  the  call 
came  from  God,  and  he  hoped  his  brethren  would  excuse  his  failure 
to  comply  with  their  order.  He  was  excused,  ' '  Red  River  circuit ' ' 
established,  and  in  a  few  more  years  we  find  Red  River  Presbytery 
organized. 

In  the  Minutes  of  the  Arkansas  Presbytery  the  boundaries  of 
the  congregations  are  defined.  These  boundaries  were  frequently 
as  large  as  a  whole  county.  In  some  instances,  indeed,  a  circuit 
was  established  exclusively  within  the  limits  of  a  single  congrega- 
tion. Of  course  the  meetings  were  held  in  private  houses.  Dur- 
ing this  first  period  there  seem  to  have  been  no  meeting-houses  in 
the  territory. 

In  1827  Arkansas  Presbytery  called  on  all  the  churches  to  unite 
in  a  day  of  fasting  and  of  prayer  to  the  great  Head  of  the  Church 
for  more  ministers  to  be  called  and  sent  into  that  needy  field. 
There  were  four  immense  circuits  in  the  Territory,  yet  the  mission- 
aries did  not  reach  one  half  of  the  destitute.  Camp-meetings  and 
circuit  appointments  were  here,  as  everywhere  else,  the  chief  reli- 


198  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.        [Period  11. 

auce  for  supplying  the  country  with  the  gospel.  At  least  once  a 
year  every  congregation  was  to  be  examined  on  theology  (the  cate- 
chism) by  one  of  the  ordained  ministers.  This  universal  custom 
of  all  our  presbyteries  in  that  day  was  not  forgotten  in  Arkansas. 
Another  characteristic  item  appears  on  the  records  of  this  presby- 
tery. An  order  was  passed  requiring  every  minister  to  preach  to 
each  church  which  he  visited  one  sermon  on  ' '  the  support  of  the 
ministry,"  and  report  results  to  the  presbytery.  At  the  next  meet- 
ing five  reported  that  they  had  not  complied  with  the  order.  One 
who  reported  compliance  said  that  the  people  on  his  circuit  had 
pledged  sixty-eight  dollars  and  fifty  cents  for  this  purpose.  An- 
other reported  that  he  complied  with  the  order,  and  that  the  people 
on  his  circuit  all  said  they  could  not  pay  any  thing  for  preaching. 

In  1827  all  the  country  around  what  is  now  Cane  Hill  College, 
Washington  County,  was  opened  to  white  settlers,  the  Osage  In- 
dians having  sold  their  lands  and  moved  farther  west.  A  goodly 
number  of  the  Crystal  Hill  people  moved  to  this  new  field,  and 
among  them  were  two  Cumberland  Presbyterian  preachers,  Carna- 
han  and  Blair,  and  also  two  elders.  They  organized  Cane  Hill 
church,  which  has  been  from  that  day  to  this  a  center  of  spiritual 
power  for  all  Arkansas.  It  soon  "swarmed,"  and  the  new  hive 
was  called  Salem,  which  still  lives  and  works  for  Jesus. 

Before  the  Crystal  Hill  people  reached  Cane  Hill,  another  Cum- 
berland Presbyterian  family  had  settled  there.  This  was  James 
Buchanan  and  his  household.  Around  the  Pyatts,  the  Buchanans, 
and  the  Blairs  clusters  a  large  part  of  the  history  of  the  Cumber- 
land Presbyterian  church  in  that  field. 

One  thing  about  Cane  Hill  congregation  deser\'es  to  be  specially 
mentioned  —  the  large  number  of  noble  ministers  it  has  sent 
forth,  and  the  very  high  positions  of  usefulness  which  these 
ministers  have  filled.  Among  its  converts  are  found  not  only  min- 
isters, but  noble  men  in  other  callings,  as,  for  example,  Prof  A. 
H.  Buchanan,  of  Cumberland  University.  Many  of  our  large 
churches  never  send  out  any  preachers.  Numbers  and  wealth  do 
not  constitute  spiritual  power.  Alas,  no!  oftener  do  they  co-exist 
with  a  godless  worldliness  which  causes  parents  to  shrink  from  the 
thought  of  giving  their  sons  to  be  preachers. 


Chapter  XIX.]  MISSOURI   AND   ARKANSAS.  199 

Cane  Hill  church  founded  Cane  Hill  College,  stamping  upon  it 
the  image  of  its  own  deep  spirituality,  which  that  institution  still 
bears  and  impresses  on  its  pupils.  A  school  for  Jesus— what  a 
precious  thing  it  is! 

"Not  more  than  one  third  of  the  people  of  Arkansas  have  any 
opportunity  to  hear  the  gospel,"  '  said  a  writer  in  1831.  "There 
are  only  three  Sabbath-schools  in  the  Territory,"  he  adds.  He 
pleads  with  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  church  not  to  send  men 
East,  where  other  churches  are  supplying  the  people  with  the  word 
of  life,  but  to  follow  up  the  great  wave  of  western  emigrants.  At 
the  close  of  the  period  ending  in  1829,  when  the  Cumberland  Pres- 
byterian General  Assembly  was  organized,  Arkansas  was  still  a 
sparsely  settled  territory,  with  wide  areas  between  the  settlements, 
and  with  the  Indians  still  on  the  soil. 

There  were  also  two  desperate  bands  of  robbers  in  Washington 
County,  of  this  Territory,  and  many  of  the  pioneer  families,  and 
especially  the  noble  women  whose  husbands  traveled  as  mission- 
aries, lived  in  constant  dread  of  these  desperadoes.  These  robber 
bands  were  especially  troublesome  about  Cane  Hill.  All  efforts  to 
reach  them  through  the  courts  failed.  Finally,  after  whole  families, 
including  little  children,  had  been  murdered,  a  vigilance  committee 
took  the  matter  in  hand  and  made  quick  work  of  the  whole  busi- 
ness. To  this  committee  the  Rev.  Andrew  Buchanan  gave  his 
hearty  support.  There  was  no  other  way  to  rid  the  country  of 
these  robbers. 

There  are  many  traditions  concerning  Andrew  Buchanan  and 
his  adventures.  A  cool,  fearless  hero;  never  excited,  never  losing 
self-possession,  never  shrinking  from  any  duty  however  hard,  he 
was  well  fitted  for  the  field  in  which  his  lot  was  cast.  Two  of  his 
favorite  sayings  are  still  quoted  in  Arkansas.  One  was,  "I  take 
no  more  trouble  on  my  hands  than  I  can  kick  off  at  my  heels;" 
the  other,  "I  never  let  my  feelings  stick  out  far  enough  for  people 
to  tramp  on  them." 

One  of  the  pioneer  workers  in  Ai-kansas  camp-meetings,  Mrs. 
Mary  Marshall,  formerly  Mrs.  Moore,  died  in  Williamson  County, 
Tennessee,  in  1886.     She  and  her  husband  settled  in  Arkansas  in 

^  Religious  and  Literary  Intelligejicer,  Maj  12,  1831 


200  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.        [Period  ii. 

1822.  Both  were  converted  in  one  of  the  early  camp-meetin^-s  in 
that  Territory,  and  from  that  day  on  were  very  active  in  all  the 
meetings  within  fifty  miles  of  their  home.  Mrs.  Marshall  fur- 
nished me  several  incidents  illustrating  the  eminent  piety  of  our 
first  Arkansas  preachers.  On  one  occasion  she  and  others  were 
talking  to  the  Rev.  Guilford  Pylant  about  religion.  It  was  at 
night  after  services.  So  absorbed  were  they  in  this  spiritual  com- 
munion that  the  day  began  to  break  before  they  noticed  how  long 
the  conference  had  been  protracted.  Mrs.  Marshall  says  Mr. 
Pylant  was  always  "in  the  Spirit."  He  is  one  of  the  surviving 
pioneer  preachers  of  Arkansas. 

At  another  time  the  Arkansas  Presbytery  held  its  meeting  in 
Mrs.  Marshall's  parlor.  After  the  presbytery  adjourned  those  who 
remained,  Andrew  Buchanan  among  the  rest,  engaged  in  religious 
conversation.  In  a  short  time  the  whole  assembly  was  so  filled 
with  religious  ecstasy  that  the  house  rang  with  loud  shouts  of 
"Glory  to  God."  Such  was  the  confidence  which  our  young 
preachers  had  in  this  woman's  piety  and  good  sense  that  they  even 
went  to  her  to  read,  for  her  criticism,  the  trial  sermons  which  they 
prepared  for  presbytery. 


Chapter  XX.]  CLOSE  OF  SECOND   PERIOD.  20I 


CHAPTER  XX. 

THE  COLLEGE— THE  GENERAL  ASSEMBLY—SUMMARY 
OF  WHAT  HAD  BEEN  DONE. 

The  old  order  changeth,  yielding  place  to  new, 
And  God  fulfills  himself  in  many  ways. 

—  Tennyson. 

THE  Cumberland  Presbyterian  church  at  an  early  period  in  its 
history  recognized  the  necessity  of  establishing  a  school  for 
the  education  of  its  preachers.  When  there  were  but  three  pres- 
byteries this  question  was  discussed  in  each  of  them.  In  1S22 
commissioners  from  the  Elk,  the  Nashville,  and  the  Tennessee 
presbyteries  met  in  convention  to  consider  this  subject.  Again  in 
1823  ^  more  vigorous  discussion  of  the  subject  ended  in  the  deter- 
mination to  bring  the  matter  before  the  synod  with  a  view  to 
co-operation  in  one  school  for  the  whole  church. 

At  the  meeting  of  the  General  Synod,  in  Princeton,  Kentucky, 
in  1825,  the  final  plan  for  the  contemplated  school  was  adopted, 
and  commissioners  appointed  to  receive  bids  and  locate  the  institu- 
tion. It  was  to  have  a  department  of  arts  and  also  a  department 
of  theology.  The  highest  judicature  of  the  church  was  to  be  its 
board  of  trustees.  The  whole  country  was  at  that  time  taking  up 
with  Fellenberg's  theory  of  manual-labor  schools,  and  the  synod 
caught  the  infection  and  resolved  that  their  college  should  be  con- 
ducted on  that  plan. 

A  novel  spectacle  greets  us  here.  The  synod,  composed  of  all 
the  ministers  of  the  church,  prescribes  a  course  of  study,  selects 
the  text-books,  and  makes  a  code  of  by-laws  to  govern  the  students; 
more  than  that,  it  undertakes  to  direct  in  the  habits  of  the  stu- 
dents about  dress  and  other  personal  matters.  It  prohibits  the  use 
of  feather  beds;  it  requires  from  every  student  two  or  three  hours' 
labor  daily  on  the  farm :  it  directs  also  about  the  management  of 


203  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.        [Period  ii. 

the  farm  and  the  boardiiig-hoiise.  That  race  of  hardy  pioneers, 
brought  up  in  a  life  of  hardships  on  the  frontier,  undertook  to 
train  up  another  generation  of  men  for  the  same  rough  work. 

The  synod  also  directed  the  commissioners  to  connect  a  print- 
ing establishment  with  this  manual-labor  enterprise,  and  to  pro- 
vide thereby  for  a  church  paper.  It  is  manifest  from  all  their 
proceedings  at  this  time  that  the  members  of  the  synod  expected 
large  results  from  the  cultivation  of  the  fann  by  the  students,  but 
they  were  not  wholly  forgetful  of  the  necessity  for  endowment. 
Agents  in  large  numbers  were  appointed  to  solicit  donations  and 
remit  to  the  commissioners,  but  no  salar>'  or  other  compensation 
was  to  be  given  to  these  agents. 

The  history  of  this  college  is  reser\^ed  for  another  chapter.  It 
was  located  at  Princeton,  Kentucky.  The  Rev.  Franceway  R. 
Cossitt,  D.D.,  who  came  to  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  church 
from  the  Episcopalians,  was  its  first  president.  He  was  also  the 
first  president  of  the  college  afterward  established  at  Lebanon, 
Tennessee.  His  appeals  in  behalf  of  education  deserve  to  be  col- 
lected in  a  volume,  both  as  a  memorial  of  a  noble  life  of  toil  and 
to  keep  forever  ringing  in  the  ears  of  our  people  the  important 
truths  which  Dr.  Cossitt  so  earnestly  pressed  upon  their  attention — 
truths  which  will  live  forever,  and  which  are  for  all  countries  and  all 
churches,  but  especially  for  this  young  church  of  the  frontier.  If 
God,  in  his  providence,  raised  up  and  fitted  IMcGready  and  Ewing 
to  lead  in  a  special  work  for  the  great  West,  much  more  did  his 
fatherly  care  show  itself  in  training  up  a  special  leader  for  the  first 
educational  work  of  the  church.  Bred  in  New  England,  taught 
in  her  best  schools,  graduated  in  one  of  her  best  colleges,  brought 
to  Christ  according  to  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  ideas  of  "time 
and  place"  and  conscious  conversion,  trained  in  a  regular  theo- 
logical school,  drilled,  too,  in  the  work  of  teaching,  Cossitt  came 
West  and  cast  in  his  lot  with  this  new  church.  From  that  day 
until  the  day  of  his  death  he  was  an  active  worker  for  our  educa- 
tional enterprises. 

The  last  days  of  the  General  Synod  were  chiefly  occupied  with 
the  various  questions  which  the  college  originated,  but  there  were 
also  several  minor  matters  which  received  attention,  among  other 


Chapter  XX.]  CLOSE  OF  SECOND  PERIOD.  203 

things  the  publication  of  a  hymn  book  for  the  church.  The  Rev. 
William  Harris,  on  his  own  responsibility,  had  brought  out  a  little 
book  of  hymns  suited  to  camp-meetings,  but  the  synod  wanted  a 
larger  book  and  appointed  men  to  prepare  one.  It  also  made 
arrangements  to  publish  the  lectures  which  the  Rev.  Finis  Ewing 
had  delivered  in  his  theological  school  in  Missouri.  A  college,  a 
theological  school,  a  church  paper,  and  the  publication  of  books 
were  all  partially  provided  for  by  the  synod  before  the  formation 
of  a  General  Assembly. 

The  expediency  of  organizing  a  General  Assembly  began  to  be 
discussed  as  early  as  1823.  The  question  was  debated  and  deferred 
at  each  successive  meeting  of  the  synod  for  five  years.  Two  things 
seem  to  have  caused  delay.  First,  some  members  feared  that  the 
expansion  of  the  church  when  proclaimed  and  acknowledged  by 
the  organization  of  an  Assembly  would  cause  some  of  our  people 
to  rely  on  their  numbers  and  forget  the  true  source  of  all  their 
strength.  Finis  Ewing  especially  feared  this,  and  while  his  fears 
did  not  lead  him  to  oppose  the  steps  of  progress  which  it  was  neces- 
sary to  take,  yet  at  every  such  advance  his  voice  of  warning  was 
heard  pleading  with  his  brethren  to  keep  humble  at  God's  feet  and 
to  remember  that  all  their  power  came  from  him.  There  seems 
also  to  have  been  a  lingering  hesitation  even  yet  about  accepting 
the  situation  of  a  permanently  organized  separate  denomination. 
A  conference  with  commissioners  from  the  Tennessee  Synod  of  the 
Presbyterian  church  was  looked  to  with  strong  hopes  by  some,  but 
it  ended  without  giving  any  ground  to  expect  reunion.  This 
conference  originated  with  the  Presbyterians  and  only  proposed 
friendly  relations,  not  organic  union.  The  right  of  a  synod  to 
enter  into  such  negotiations  was,  however,  questioned  by  the  Pres- 
byterian General  Assembly  and  the  whole  matter  was  dropped. 

All  of  the  preachers  had  to  ride  on  horseback  to  attend  the 
annual  meetings  of  the  General  Synod.  Daniel  Patton,  who  is 
one  of  the  three  surviving  members  (1887)  of  that  synod  gives  an 
interesting  account  of  its  last  meeting.  He  had  traveled  seven 
hundred  miles  to  attend,  and  traveling  expenses  had  become  a 
burden.  He,  therefore,  laid  ten  dollars  on  the  clerk's  table  to  start 
a  permanent  fund,  the  interest  of  which  should  meet  such  traveling 


204  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.        [Period  ii. 

expenses.  His  example  was  followed  by  many  others.  Four 
hundred  dollars  for  this  fund  was  secured  at  that  meeting.  But  the 
requisite  number  of  presbyteries  sent  up  their  responses  in  favor 
of  organizing  a  General  Assembly.  It  was,  therefore,  no  longer 
necessary  that  all  the  preachers  of  the  church  should  attend 
every  meeting  of  its  highest  judicature.  So  responses  to  Mr.  Pat- 
ton's  proposition  were  never  carried  beyond  the  four  hundred 
dollars.  A  very  strong  feeling  in  favor  of  a  delegated  s)-nod,  and 
no  higher  court,  existed,  but  those  maintaining  this  view  v/ere 
outvoted.  The  organization  was  to  be  Presbyterian  in  all  its 
details. 

Some  of  the  minor  rules  and  transactions  of  the  General  Synod 
deserv'e  to  be  noticed  before  we  pass  to  the  next  period.  There 
was,  for  instance,  a  standing  order  requiring  every  presbytery  to 
furnish  from  time  to  time  a  full  history  of  its  work  and  progress, 
to  be  filed  with  the  stated  clerk  of  the  synod.  The  Rev.  David 
Foster  was  appointed  general  superintendent  to  see  that  this  rule 
was  complied  with.  While  many  of  these  histories  are  lost,  there 
are  enough  of  them  still  in  existence  to  render  valuable  aid  in  the 
preparation  of  this  volume.  Why  could  not  this  old  rule  be 
revived,  and  precious  material  be  thus  preser\^ed?  Not  a  mere 
digest  of  ecclesiastical  records,  but  a  photograph  of  the  work  in  all 
the  churches  of  the  presbytery  is  what  is  needed.  The  synod,  in 
its  official  action,  took  high  ground  on  the  subject  of  temperance. 
It  placed  itself  on  record  as  in  favor  of  all  the  great  benevolent 
enterprises  of  the  day.  It  was  recognized  in  all  the  West  as  fore- 
most in  work  for  the  Bible  Society  and  the  Tract  Society. 

New  presbyteries  were  organized  from  time  to  time,  and  when 
the  General  Synod  finally  adjourned  sine  die,  there  were  eighteen 
of  these  presbyteries.  The  date  of  the  order  for  the  organization 
of  each,  and  a  list  of  the  original  members,  are  here  given: 

Nashville,'  1813:  Hugh   Kirkpatrick,  Thomas  Calhoun,  David  Foster, 

D.  W.  McLin. 
Elk,  1813:  William   McGee,    Samuel   King,  James    B.   Porter,   Robert 

Bell,  Robert  Donnell.  _^__ 

'  The  Nashville  Presbytery  was  what  was  left  of  the  original  Cumberland  Pres- 
bytery after  Elk  and  Logan  were  stricken  off  in  1S13.     It  was  still  called  the  Cum- 


Chapter  XX.]  ClOSE   OP   SECOND    PERIOD  205 

Logan,  1S13:  Finis  Ewing,  William  Harris,  Alexander  Chapman,  Will- 
iam Barnett. 
McGee,  1819:  Green  P.  Rice,  Daniel  Buie,  R.  D.  Morrow,  John  Car- 

nahan. 
Anderson,  182 1:  William  Henry,  John  Barnett,  D.  W.  McLin,  Aaron 

Shelby,  W.  M.  Hamilton,  James  Johnston,  William  Barnett. 
Lebanon,  1821:  Thomas  Calhoun,  William  Bumpass,  John  Provine,  J. 

L.  Dillard,  Daniel  Gossedge,  Samuel  McSpeddin,  James  McDon- 

nold. 
Tennessee,   182 1:  A.   Alexander,    Albert   Gibson,    R.    Donnell,    James 

.Stuart,  James  Moore,  John  jMolloy. 
Illinois,  1S22:  Green  P.  Rice,  D.  W.  McLin,  John  M.  Berry,  W.  M. 

Hamilton. 
Tombigbee,   1823:  Robert   Bell,  John   Molloy,   John    C.   Smith,   John 

Forbes. 
Arkan#as,  1833:  W.  C.  Long,  William  Henry,  John  Carnahan,  Robert 

Stone. 
Hopewell,  1824:  William  Barnett,  Richard  Beai'd,  Samuel  Harris,  John 

C.  Smith. 
Alabama,""   1S24:  William  Moore,  Benjamin  Lockhart,  John  Williams, 

J.  W.  Dickey. 
Indiana,   1S25:   Aaron    Shelby,    H.  A.    Hunter,    A.  Downey,  William 

Lynn. 
Barnett,   1S37:  Samuel   King,   R.   D.   Morrow,   Daniel  Patton,   Henry 

Renick. 
Knoxville,   1827:  George  Donnell,  S.  M.  Aston,  Abner  W.  Lansden, 

William  Smith. 
St.  Louis,  182S:  F.  M.  Braly,  John  R.  Brown,  John  W.  McCord,  John 

H.  Garvin. 
Princeton,  1828:  F.  R.  Cossilt,  David  Lowry,  John  W.  Ogden,  James 

Johnston. 
Sangamon,   182S:   David   Foster,  John   M.    Berry,   Thomas   Campbell, 

Gilbert  Dodds,  John  Porter. 

The  synod  resolved  to  divide  itself  into  four  synods  preparatory 
to  the  organization  of  a  General  Assembly.  These  new  synods  were 
named  Missouri,  Franklin,  Green  River,  and  Columbia.  There 
were  six  presbyteries  in  Missouri  Synod:  McGee,  Barnett,  Sanga- 
mon, Illinois,  St.  Louis,  and  Arkansas.     Franklin  Synod  had  four 

berland  Presbytery  till   1S14,  when  its  name  was  changed.     Elk,  Logan,  and  Nash- 
ville were  the  presbyteries  composing  the  first  synod. 

''The  order  to  organize  in  1821  failed  for  waut  of  a  resident  quorum. 


2o6  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.        [Period  ii. 

presbyteries:  Nashville,  Lebanon,  Knoxville,  and  Hopewell.  In 
Green  River  Synod  there  were  also  four  presbyteries:  Anderson, 
Princeton,  Logan,  and  Indiana;  and  four  in  the  Columbia  vSynod, 
viz.:  Alabama,  Tombigbee,  Elk,  and  Tennessee.  The  General 
Assembly  w-as  to  hold  its  first  meeting  in  Princeton,  Kentucky,  the 
third  Tuesday  in  May,  1829.  Such  changes  in  the  Form  of  Gov- 
ernment as  the  organization  of  a  General  Assembly  necessitated 
were  made  by  the  s}'nod,  and,  without  any  reference  to  the  presby- 
teries, were  accepted  by  common  consent,  and  became  part  of  the 
laws  of  the  church. 

This  sy nodical  period,  from  1813  to  1829,  was  one  of  unsur- 
passed activity  and^ spirituality  on  the  part  of  our  ministry.  Tak- 
ing it  altogether,  the  world  has  never  witnessed  its  equal;  certainly 
the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  church  has  not  witnessed  any  thing 
like  its  equal  in  the  two  particulars  specified.  I  am  sorr}'  to  add 
that  there  are  no  statistics  to  show  even  the  number  of  ministers 
in  the  church,  much  less  the  number  of  members,  at  that  time. 
There  were  eighteen  presbyteries,  and  we  know  who  their  first 
members  were;  but  what  names  had  been  added  to  their  rolls  after 
their  organization  can  not  now  be  ascertained.  There  were  thou- 
sands of  conversions  every  year,  but  God  kept  that  roll;  and  the 
fear  of  ' '  counting, ' '  which  still  exists  among  our  people,  did  not 
cause  one  single  genuine  convert  to  be  omitted  from  the  family 
record  in  our  Father's  book  of  life.  On  Monday,  October  27,  1828, 
at  Franklin,  Tennessee,  the  General  Synod,  composed  of  all  the 
ministers  of  the  church  and  their  elders,  adjourned  to  meet  no 
more  on  earth. 


THIRD    PERIOD. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

GENERAL    SURVEY. 

And  now  with  voices  soft,  mysterious,  low, 
Tlie  phantoms  whisper  round  me,  and  I  seem 

To  hear  life's  blended  memories  come  and  go 
In  strange  ethereal  music  fitfullj. 

— Paul  H.  Ilayne. 

THE  third  period,  from  the  meeting  of  the  first  General  Assem- 
bly in  1829  to  the  removal  of  Cumberland  College  in  1842,  is 
the  great  transition  period  in  the  history  of  the  Cumberland  Pres- 
byterian church.  It  seems  proper,  before  taking  up  any  thorough 
notice  of  details,  to  sweep  over  this  period  with  a  sort  of  general 
survey. 

When  the  first  General  Assembly  met  at  Princeton,  Kentucky, 
the  church  extended  into  only  eight  States,  six  of  which  had  be- 
come States  since  the  church  was  organized.  The  other  two 
States  had  both  acquired  large  areas  of  Indian  territory  since  the 
organization  of  the  church,  and  even  in  these  two  older  States 
work  among  the  pioneer  settlements  had  constituted  a  large  part 
of  our  denominational  activity,  while  all  the  work  in  the  new 
States  had  from  necessity  been  accomplished  by  missionary  evan- 
gelists. Born  on  the  crest  of  the  great  wave  of  emigration  which 
was  rolling  into  the  immense  western  territories,  as  one  after 
another  these  territories  were  thrown  open  to  white  settlers,  this 
church  was  specially  raised  up  and  fitted  by  a  wise  Providence  for 
pioneer  work  in  this  field.  The  ministry  of  the  new  church  filled 
this  pioneer  mission  nobly;  but  the  time  came  when  all  the  circum- 
stances were  changed,  and  Providence  pointed  to  other  missions. 

(207) 


2o8  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  in. 

That  period  begins  with  the  meeting  of  the  first  General  Assembly. 
There  were  still  new  territories  acquired  by  the  nation  on  the  west- 
em  frontier,  but  there  were  also  many  old  established  communities 
in  which  our  people  had  churches  that  needed  training. 

There  were  eighteen  presbyteries  at  the  time  this  period  began, 
sixteen  of  which  were  represented  in  the  first  General  Assembly. 
Not  one  of  the  preachers  who  attended  this  General  Assembl}'  had 
ever  been  a  pastor  in  the  true  sense  of  that  term.  Missionaries 
who  had  borne  great  hardships  all  their  li\-es,  who  had  shown 
themselves  ready  and  willing  to  suffer  for  the  sake  of  leading  souls 
to  Jesus,  but  had  little  or  no  experience  in  the  management  of 
financial  affairs,  found  themselves  in  charge  of  all  the  great  enter- 
prises of  the  denomination.  It  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  they 
made  many  a  blunder  in  the  business  department  of  their  transac- 
tions. We  know  not  whether  smiles  or  tears  are  most  called  for 
when  we  see  the  General  Assembly  year  after  year  appointing 
agents  to  travel  over  all  the  United  States  for  the  college,  without 
any  salary  whatever.  Were  they  not  ministers  who  were  thus 
appointed?  Had  they  not  all  been  thoroughly  trained  in  working 
without  any  pay?  But  our  smiles  turn  to  admiration  when  we 
find  that  the  Rev.  Matthew  Houston  Bone,  the  Rev.  Franceway  R. 
Cossitt,  and  the  Rev.  John  W.  Ogden  did  all  three  comply  with 
this  appointment  made  by  the  first  General  Assembly,  and  make 
extensive  tours  in  the  interest  of  the  college  through  half  a  dozen 
States.  We  are  not  surprised,  however,  to  find  in  their  reports  the 
next  year  much  more  about  the  number  of  poor  sinners  converted 
at  their  meetings  than  about  the  amount  of  money  secured  for  the 
college. 

Much  of  the  business  of  the  General  Assembly  during  this  tran- 
sition period  had  reference  to  the  difficulties  and  the  struggles  of 
the  college.  Another  matter  of  a  most  embarrassing  nature,  over 
which  there  was  much  trouble,  was  the  church  paper.  A  third 
source  of  trouble  and  loss  was  "the  book  concern."  There  were 
also  heart-burnings  and  distress  over  the  case  of  the  Rev.  John 
Barnett,  who  was  financially  wrecked  while  tr}'ing  to  carr}'  on  the 
business  department  of  the  college  under  contract  with  the  General 
Assembly.     Another  source  of  embarrassment  was  a  difficult  and 


Chapter  XXI.]  GENERAI.    SuRVEY.  209 

protracted  discussion  about  the  pastoral  office.  The  home  mission- 
ary work  in  Pennsylvania,  Texas,  lyouisiana,  and  other  fields  was  a 
hopeful  feature  of  the  church's  progress  during  this  period. 

While  the  General  Assembly  uniformly  indorsed  the  American 
Board  of  Missions,  and  recommended  the  churches  to  contribute  to 
that  board,  it  also  clung  to  the  theory  of  having  a  missionary  board 
of  its  own  both  for  domestic  and  foreign  missions.  The  General 
Assembly  of  1836  resolved  to  co-operate  with  the  American  Board 
in  the  foreign  work.  The  Cumberland  Presbyterian  Board  of  Mis- 
sions, which  originated  in  the  second  period  and  continued  through 
the  third,  never  had  any  charter.  While  voices  in  favor  of  a  char- 
tered board  of  foreign  missions  were  heard  at  every  General  Assem- 
bly, still  no  such  board  was  created.  The  unchartered  board  was 
considered  sufficient.  Expecting  neither  legacies,  law-suits,  nor 
defalcations,  a  majority  thought  a  charter  unnecessary.  All  the 
congregations  were  required  to  have  auxiliary  missionary  societies, 
tributary  to  this  board. 

At  all  the  General  Assemblies  during  this  period  the  great 
benevolent  enterprises  of  the  day  received  hearty  indorsement,  and 
the  churches  were  urged  to  co-operate  with  them.  The  Coloniza- 
tion Society  and  Tract  Society  seem  to  have  been  favorites,  though 
the.  Bible  Society,  Temperance  Society,  and  Sunday-school  Union 
were  never  forgotten. 

While  the  General  Assembly  declared  itself  in  favor  of  full  sta- 
tistical reports  from  the  presbyteries,  and,  with  constantly  dimin- 
ishing opposition,  resolved  at  every  annual  meeting  that  these 
reports  must  be  sent  up,  yet  up  to  the  close  of  this  period  only 
about  half  the  presbyteries  complied  with  the  order.  There  was  a 
strong  feeling  against  statistics  among  some  of  our  best  men.  The 
first  synod  to  make  a  full  statistical  report,  accompanied  with  a 
directory  of  its  ministers,  was  the  Synod  of  Missouri,  in  1836. 

At  every  General  Assembly  the  reports  on  the  state  of  religion 
speak  of  extensive  revivals,  but  do  not  give  full  statistics  of  con- 
versions. At  one  meeting  half  the  s^-nods  sent  up  statistics.  The 
number  of  conversions  in  their  bounds  for  that  year  was  a  little 
over  eight  thousand.  In  1835  the  Committee  on  the  State  of 
Religion  reported   that  secularization   of  the   ministry   prevailed 

14 


2IO  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  in. 

to  an  alarming  extent.  At  two  meetings  the  General  Assembly 
held  a  fast-day  in  the  midst  of  its  sessions,  the  members  gathering 
at  six  o'clock  in  the  morning  for  prayer.  General  fast-days  for  the 
whole  church  were  twice  appointed  during  this  period,  and  the 
people  called  on  to  pray  for  more  men  to  be  called  to  the  ministr}'. 
Camp-meetings  were  still  universal,  and  the  General  Assembly  con- 
stantly gave  them  its  official  indorsement,  and  urged  the  churches 
to  hold  them.  Even  in  the  very  few  old  churches  which,  after 
the  middle  of  this  period,  had  settled  pastors,  nobody  thought  of 
abandoning  the  camp  -  meeting.  The  church  papers  teem  with 
accounts  of  revivals  at  these  meetings.  Nowhere  else  did  the 
preachers  of  this  period  appear  to  such  advantage,  or  preach  with 
such  power.  It  was  customary  to  hold  the  sessions  of  the  church 
judicatures  during  or  immediately  preceding  a  camp-meeting. 

The  General  Assembly  solemnly  declared  hoh-  living  on  the 
part  of  God's  people  to  be  greatly  needed  and  sadly  lacking.  In 
1836  it  declared  it  to  be  part  of  the  policy  of  the  church  for  pres- 
byteries to  license  lay  exhorters.  It  is  a  pity  that  the  church  ever 
departed  from  that  policy. 

It  is  remarkable  how  very  few  appeal  cases  came  up  from  the 
lower  church  judicatures,  and  what  a  mild  nature  characterized 
those  which  did  come.  The  first  appeal  case  was  at  the  fifth  Gen- 
eral Assembly,  and  the  question  was  whether  Hiram  IMcDaniel 
belonged  to  the  Princeton  or  to  the  Anderson  Presbyter>'.  Nor 
were  there  any  appeals  or  any  graver  questions  during  all  this 
period.  Questions  about  the  right  way  of  appointing  elders  to 
attend  synod  were  constantly  coming  up.  Occasional  memorials 
to  abolish  the  synod  were  laid  on  the  table,  or  voted  down. 

Two  of  the  early  ministers  of  the  church  were  superannuated 
and  in  destitution.  The  General  Assembly  at  every  meeting  made 
some  provisions  for  these  sufferers  and  their  families.  For  one  of 
them  it  bought  a  little  farm. 

The  first  part  of  this  period  presented  few  exciting  debates. 
There  were  no  great  speeches.  Orator\'  found  its  field  in  the  pul- 
pit, especially  at  the  camp-meetings.  The  last  Assembly  of  this 
period  (1842),  however,  was  more  like  one  of  our  modern  judica- 
tures.    There  were  animated  debates  and  long  and  earnest  speeches 


Chapter  XXL]  GENERAL   SURVEY.  211 

on  the  question  of  removing  the  college  from  Princeton.  Local 
and  party  feelings  made  their  first  decided  exhibition  in  this  Assem- 
bly. According  to  all  accounts  the  speeches  in  all  the  former 
sessions  were  short,  and  utterly  destitute  of  any  ill-feeling.  This 
was  true  even  in  the  discussion  of  the  questions  about  which  it  is 
known  that  there  were  bitter  heart-burnings.  The  peace  and  har- 
mony of  the  church  were  at  that  day  held  in  very  high  esteem. 

In  1833  the  General  Assembly  resolved  that  it  would  be  a  grat- 
ifying thing  to  have  the  three  men  who  organized  our  first  pres- 
bytery visit  all  the  churches.  The  Rev.  Samuel  King,  therefore, 
after  some  preparation,  took  with  him  his  son,  the  Rev.  R.  D.  King, 
and  started  in  April,  1834,  on  the  grand  tour.  His  first  year  was 
spent  in  the  South-west,  during  which  time  he  aided  in  organizing 
the  Louisiana  Presbytery.  He  reported  good  meetings  all  through 
the  year.  The  next  General  Assembly  asked  him  to  continue  the 
work,  which  he  did,  and  reported  to  the  Assembly  of  1836.  He 
visited  Logan,  Kentucky,  and  Knoxville  presbyteries,  the  Creek  and 
Cherokee  Indians,  and  the  Elyton,  Alabama,  and  Mississippi  pres- 
byteries, holding  meetings  all  along  the  journey.  He  says  that  he 
everywhere  found  the  old  preachers  more  zealous  than  their  juniors. 
Several  precious  revivals  and  other  good  results  of  the  mission  are 
mentioned.  For  the  whole  two  years  he  and  his  son  received  com- 
pensation nearly  equal  to  their  traveling  expenses. 

In  1836  the  General  Assembly  declared  that  making,  selling,  or 
giving  away  ardent  spirits  was  an  offense  requiring  discipline.  It 
put  on  record  a  declaration  about  fraternal  intercourse  with  all 
orthodox  churches,  and  directed  its  preachers  to  maintain  this 
intercourse  so  far  as  possible  with  all  God's  children.  The  same 
Assembly  formed  a  society  for  the  purpose  of  aiding  candidates  for 
the  ministr}''  in  securing  a  thorough  education. 

Owing  to  the  financial  embarrassments  into  which  the  college 
was  plunged  at  the  very  beginning  of  its  career,  the  first  General 
Assembly  decided  to  defer  indefinitely  the  scheme  of  establishing  a 
theological  department  in  that  college.  The  church,  however,  was 
clamorous  for  a  theological  school,  and  the  General  Assembly  of 
1834  submitted  the  question  to  the  presbyteries  whether  it  would 
be  better  to  have  one  school  under  Assemblv  ausoices.  or  several 


212  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  in. 

schools  under  synodical  control.  The  replies  from  the  presbyteries 
were  not  in  harmony:  some  wanted  presbyterial,  and  some  synod- 
ical schools,  and  some  one  school  under  the  Assembly.  Others 
thought  that  the  time  for  action  had  not  yet  arrived.  Under  this 
state  of  tilings  the  whole  question  was  again  postponed.  The  Gen- 
eral Assembly  of  1838  resolved  to  try  the  plan  of  holding  biennial 
instead  of  annual  sessions;  therefore  no  Assembly  met  in  1839. 

During  this  period  the  number  of  synods  in  the  church  grew 
from  four  to  twelve,  and  the  number  of  presbyteries  from  eighteen 
to  fifty-three.  The  period  began  imder  the  dispensation  of  mis- 
sionar}'  evangelists;  it  closed  with  a  recognized  pastoral  system 
thoroughly  indorsed  by  church  authority,  but  not  yet  established 
in  the  hearts  of  tlie  lay  members.  This  w^as  in  some  respects  the 
darkest  epoch  of  the  church's  history,  the  war  period  itself  not 
excejoted.  The  darkness  arose  from  troubles  over  the  college,  the 
paper,  and  the  publication  of  books,  and  from  the  transition  from 
missions  to  pastorates.  A  list  of  the  new  presbyteries  established 
during  this  period,  with  the  dates  when  they  are  first  mentioned  on 
the  rolls  of  the  Assembly,  is  here  given:  Kentucky,  1830;  Elyton, 
Forked  Deer,  Hatchie,  Mississippi,  Vandalia,  and  Wabash,  1832; 
Lexington,  New  Lebanon,  Obion,  Pennsylvania,  Salt  River,  and 
White  River,  1833;  Jackson  and  Red  River,  1834;  Louisiana  and 
Richland,  1835;  Chapman,  King,  Rushville,  Shiloh,  Talladega, 
and  Wolf  River,  1836;  Athens,  Hiwassee,  Mackinaw,  Neosho, 
Ohio,  and  Union  town — now  Union  (Pennsylvania) — 1837;  Oxford, 
Texas,  and  Washington,  1838;  Columbus  and  Union  (West  Tennes- 
see Synod),  1840;  Charity  Hall,  Foster,  IMcGready,  and  Memphis, 
1841;  Evving  (Illinois),  Mound  Prairie,  and  Ozark,  1842.  Several 
of  these,  however,  were  not  new  presbyteries,  but  new  names  for 
old  ones.  The  new  synods  added  in  1832  were  Mississippi,  Illinois, 
and  Western  District,  aftenvard  called  West  Tennessee.  In  1834 
Arkansas  Synod  was  created,  and  the  name  of  Missouri  S}'nod 
changed  to  Washington,  but  the  original  name  was  soon  after 
resumed.  Union  (now  Alabama)  Synod  was  organized  in  1836; 
Indiana  in  1837;  and  Pennsylvania,  McHaca,  and  ]\Iiddle  Tennes- 
see in  1838.  The  name  McHaca  was  afterward  changed  to  Sanga- 
mon.    The  Franklin  Synod  was  dissolved,   and  its  presbyteries 


Chapter  XXL]  GENERAI.   SuRVEY.  213 

attached  to  other  synods.  Finis  Ewing,  David  Foster,  David  W. 
McLin,  William  Barnett,  Alexander  Chapman,  and  H.  F.  Delany 
died  during  this  period,  and  the  Rev.  Samuel  King  just  at  its  close. 

One  thing  is  fully  manifest  from  the  study  of  this  whole  period: 
At  the  bottom  of  all  the  financial  trouble  about  the  printing  of 
books,  about  the  paper,  about  the  college,  and  about  John  Barnett' s 
embarrassments  and  losses,  lay  one  and  the  same  foundation  of 
rottenness  —  the  credit  system.  Let  the  church  heed  the  danger 
signals  which  its  past  ervperience  has  raised  so  high  over  the 
wrecks  of  its  early  enterprises. 

The  same  period  furnishes  another  danger  signal  demanding 
^present  and  perpetual  attention:  No  body  as  large  as  the  General 
Assembly  is  competent  to  manage  financial  enterprises.  A  small 
board  of  experts  selected  for  this  special  work  may  do  so;  no  Gen- 
eral Assembly  in  any  church  has  ever  done  so  successfully.  During 
this  period  the  whole  church,  through  its  General  Assembly,  en- 
tered into  half  a  dozen  or  more  business  contracts,  making  solemn 
pledges  which  it  did  not  and  could  not  keep.  Trouble  and  disaster 
came  from  every  one  of  these  contracts.  The  inconsistency  of 
attempting  the  direct  management  of  financial  enterprises  by  so 
large  a  body  is  well  illustrated  in  the  history  of  the  church's  first 
general  Board  of  Missions.  This  board  was  composed  of  all  the 
ministers  of  the  church.  Among  them  were  a  considerable  num- 
ber of  men  who  were  opposed  to  foreign  missions;  yet  they  helped 
to  manage  our  first  foreign  mission! 

What  then  is  the  conclusion?  "Look  ye  out  seven  men"  fit 
for  such  business,  and  leave  its  management  to  them.  What  if 
they  prove  false?  Then  the  immorality,  not  the  business  manage- 
ment, is  a  fit  siibject  for  ecclesiastical  reckoning.  Unfitness  for  the 
trust  may  call  for  a  change  of  men,  but  it  never  justifies  an  Assem- 
bly in  taking  into  its  own  hands  the  financial  direction  of  any  busi- 
ness enterprise. 


214  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History       cPerioj  iii. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 


THE  FIRST  CUMBERLAND  PRESBYTERIAN  COLLEGE. 

'•Si  monumentum  queris  circumspice." 

A  CHURCH  college  necessarily  has  two  histories — one  outward 
and  ecclesiastical,  the  other  internal  and  domestic.  The  first 
Cumberland  Presbyterian  college  has  been  very  fortunate  in  the 
writer  of  its  outward  history,  but  much  of  the  material  for  a  record 
of  its  internal  workings  has  forever  perished.  Dr.  Richard  Beard's 
article,  secured  by  Dr.  J.  Berrien  Lindsley,  and  published  by  Dr.  M. 
B.  De  Witt  in  the  Theological  Mediu7n^  April,  1876,  is  a  full  and  reli- 
able presentation  of  the  official  and  ecclesiastical  side  of  the  history 
of  this  college.  With  all  the  official  records  of  the  college  and  the 
General  Assembly  to  guide  him,  besides  a  personal  connection  with 
most  of  the  events  he  recorded,  there  could  not  have  been  found  a 
more  accurate  historian  than  Dr.  Beard.  One  of  his  dates  is  no 
doubt  a  misprint.  It  was  not  1844,  but  1842,  when  the  General 
Assembly  forever  severed  its  connection  with  Cumberland  College. 

The  antecedents  of  the  action  establishing  the  college  were 
given  in  a  former  chapter.  The  following  reasons  were  urged  in 
favor  of  a  manual  labor  institution:  Health  will  be  promoted,  econ- 
omy will  be  secured,  the  poor  will  have  a  chance  for  a  collegiate 
education,  and  the  ministry  will  thus  be  trained  for  that  life  of 
hardships  which  pioneer  missions  call  for. 

The  commissioners  appointed  by  the  synod  in  1825  to  arrange 
for  the  location  and  establishment  of  the  college  visited  Hopkins- 
ville,  Elkton,  Russellville,  and  Princeton.  The  synod  felt  obliged 
to  locate  the  school  in  Kentucky.  The  people  of  Princeton  made 
the  largest  bid  ($28,000)  in  subscriptions,  and  the  college  was 
located  there,  and  a  board  of  trust  chartered.  A  large  farm  was 
bought  on  a  credit,  tools  and  stock  were  bought  with  borrowed 
money;  buildings  were  erected  on  a  credit.     "Here  beginneth  our 


Chapter  XXII.]  CUMBERLAND  COLLEGE.  215 

morning  lesson."  Less  than  one  fourth  of  the  subscriptions  made 
by  the  people  of  Princeton  were  ever  paid.  Thus  the  institution 
was  born  in  embarrassments.  The  conditions  on  which  the  loca- 
tion at  Princeton  was  made  were  thus  violated  at  the  beginning, 
and  the  church  began  immediately  to  regret  that  some  other  place 
had  not  been  selected.  There  were  many  strong  men  in  the 
church  who  from  the  first  seriously  doubted  the  fitness  of  the  loca- 
tion at  Princeton.  Prominent  among  these  was  the  Rev.  Robert 
Donnell.  He  predicated  his  doubts  solely  on  the  weakness  of  the 
Cumberland  Presbyterian  church  in  that  town.  He  said  that  a 
temporary  interest  aroused  among  members  of  other  churches  by 
local  considerations  could  not  be  relied  on  for  a  long  struggle.  To 
all  this  he  gave  utterance  before  Princeton  was  selected,  and  while 
different  locations  were  under  discussion.  The  results  showed  that 
Donnell's  doubts  were  well  founded.  A  few  men  of  other  churches 
were  true  helpers  to  the  last,  but  there  was  lacking  that  strong 
local  support  which  ever}'  college  imperatively  requires.  Cumber- 
land College  was  my  own  alma  mater^  and  for  half  of  my  lifetime 
Princeton  was  the  dearest  spot  to  me  on  the  earth.  No  community 
anywhere  could  have  shown  more  kindness  to  the  students.  The 
trouble  did  not  lie  in  that  quarter. 

The  college  opened  on  the  first  of  March,  1826,  with  six  stu- 
dents, but  the  number  soon  increased.  The  large,  hewed  log  house, 
which  afterward  was  Dr.  Beard's  residence,  now  burned,  was  the 
college  building.  Dormitories,  some  good  and  some  rude,  were  on 
the  other  side  of  the  street.  The  refectory  was  a  little  nearer  the 
town.  Before  the  institution  was  a  year  old  the  farm  was  mort- 
gaged to  raise  money  to  meet  the  most  pressing  debts.  In  1831 
debts  had  accumulated  until  the  institution  was  about  to  be  sold. 
Several  agents  had  been  sent  out,  but  very  few  of  them  secured 
any  thing  more  than  traveling  expenses.  The  Rev.  John  W. 
Ogden,  who  canvassed  the  churches  in  South  Alabama,  paid  over 
to  the  trustees  seven  hundred  dollars,  but  that  was  "only  a  drop  in 
the  bucket."  The  others  altogether  paid  just  seventy-eight  dollars 
and  forty-seven  cents.  Debts  to  the  amount  of  twelve  thousand 
dollars  were  then  pressing.  The  case  was  pronounced  hopeless. 
When  the  General  Assembly  met  that  year,  many  people  thought 


2i6  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.      [Period  in. 

it  would  be  better  to  abandon  that  enterprise,  and  start  a  college  in 
some  community  which  had  never  arrayed  the  prejudices  of  the 
church  against  it. 

The  Rev.  John  Barnett  and  the  Rev.  Aaron  Shelby,  both  pos- 
sessed of  considerable  estates  and  both  warm  friends  of  the  college 
and  of  its  location  also,  made  a  proposition  to  lease  the  institution 
for  four  years.  Their  proposition  was  accepted.  Its  terms  and  con- 
ditions are  here  briefly  stated:  (i)  The  lessees  assumed  all  the  debts 
and  all  the  expenses  both  of  college  and  refector)-;  (2)  They  were 
authorized  to  charge  eighty  dollars  a  year  for  boarding  and  tuition, 
instead  of  sixty  dollars,  the  former  price.  There  were  four  condi- 
tions: First,  It  was  stipulated  that  the  individual  members  of  the 
General  Assembly  should  give  their  notes  for  ^2,400,  due  in  one 
and  two  years.  Second,  It  was  agreed  that  the  General  Assembly 
should  keep  an  agent  constantly  in  the  field  soliciting  aid  for  the 
college.  Third,  All  the  net  profits  from  the  church  paper  were  to 
be  given  to  the  lessees.  (This  item  was  changed  afterward.) 
Fourth,  All  the  assets  of  the  institution  of  ever}-  description,  and 
all  its  net  income,  were  to  be  gi\'en  to  the  lessees.  After  this  con- 
tract was  entered  into,  the  trustees,  whose  chartered  existence  and 
general  oversight  of  the  college  still  continued,  agreed  to  extend 
the  lease  to  Barnett  and  Shelby  to  twelve  years  in  payment  for  a 
large  brick  building  to  be  erected  by  them.  They  erected  the 
building  which  was  so  long  the  chief  home  of  the  institution. 

The  details  of  the  trouble  and  complaints  which  grew  out  of 
this  lease  would  be  neither  interesting  nor  profitable.  Shelby  was 
shrewd  enough  to  get  his  head  out  of  the  halter  while  the  rope  was 
slack.  Young,  who  bought  out  Shelby,  died  of  cholera,  and  the 
trustees  bought  his  half  of  the  lease.  Both  the  lessees  and  the 
General  Assembly  failed  in  part  of  their  pledges.  The  lessees 
never  paid  off  the  debts  against  the  institution,  and  the  General 
Assembly  failed  to  pay  the  ^2,400  pledged  to  the  lessees.  Crimina- 
tion and  recrimination  followed.  The  cholera  visited  Princeton 
year  after  year.  There  was  great  dissatisfaction  among  the  stu- 
dents with  the  labor  requirement,  and  with  the  refectorv'  These 
thino-s  combined  to  make  Barnett' s  connection  with  the  college 
disastrous  to  him.     Some  thought  the  General  Assembly  ought  to 


Chapter  XXII.]  CUMBERLAND   COLLEGE.  217 

iudemnify  liim,  but  a  majority  voted  against  such  a  proposition. 
Many  hard  feelings  and  heart-burnings  there  were,  but  it  is  need- 
less to  follow  the  subject  further. 

When  the  General  Assembly  of  1836  met,  Barnett  proposed  to 
surrender  his  lease ;  and  declared  himself  unable,  by  reason  of  many 
losses,  to  cany  out  his  contracts.  The  General  Assembly  then 
asked  the  trustees  to  form  a  joint-stock  company.  They  failed  to 
do  so,  and  bitter  complaints  were  made  in  the  church  paper  about 
this  failure.  Some  of  the  trustees  replied,  representing  the  condi- 
tion and  prospects  of  the  college  as  utterly  hopeless.  The  General 
Assembly  of  1837,  which  met  at  Princeton,  urged  the  formation  of 
the  joint-stock  company.  The  trustees  replied  that  the  property 
of  the  college  was  all  under  the  hammer,  and  no  joint-stock  com- 
pany was  possible.  Thereupon  various  members  of  the  Assembly 
agreed  to  become  stockholders,  and  these  members,  aided  by  a  few 
citizens  of  Princeton,  formed  the  company  apd  Barnett  surrendered 
his  lease. 

This  company  was  to  be  independent  of  the  Assembly  and  to 
relieve  the  church  of  all  responsibility  for  the  debts  of  the  institu- 
tion. It  had  its  own  chartered  board  of  trust  cliosen  by  itself 
The  main  consideration  in  view  of  which  the  Assembly  agreed  to 
surrender  all  control  of  the  institution  and  all  title  to  its  property 
of  every  description  was  that  the  Association  should  pay  off  all 
the  debts  against  the  college.  A  two  years'  breathing  spell  was 
gained  by  the  new  arrangement  and  money  enough  was  secured - 
to  stave  off  the  most  pressing  debts,  but  not  enough  to  liquidate 
them. 

An  Episcopalian  minister  was  placed  in  the  facult}^,  and  people 
thought  it  was  through  his  influence  that  the  new  board  of  direct- 
ors began  to  talk  about  transferring  the  college  to  the  Episcopal 
church.  To  the  General  Assembly  in  1840  the  college  authorities 
reported  their  determination  to  transfer  the  college  to  some  other 
church  unless  that  Assembly  would  make  reliable  provisions  for 
endowment.  They  told  how  much  the  people  of  Princeton  had 
done  for  the  institution,  and  lectured  the  Assembly  about  its  fail- 
ures. A  new  plan  was  then  adopted.  On  condition  thai?  all  the 
property,  real  and  personal,  should  be  transferred  back,  free  from 


2l8  CUMBERLANCl    PRESBYTERIAN   HISTORY.         [Period  III. 

debt,  to  a  board  of  trust  to  be  appointed  by  the  General  Assembly, 
that  body  undertook  to  raise  an  endowment  of  fifty-five  thousand 
dollars. 

In  1 841  the  college  reported  that  the  charter  for  the  new  board 
had  been  secured  and  that  the  institution  had  better  patronage. 
The  agents  reported  fifteen  thousand  dollars  subscribed  for  endow- 
ment. Hopes  began  to  revive.  In  1842  the  new  board  reported 
to  the  General  Assembly  that  the  property  was  not  turned  over  to 
them  free  of  debt  according  to  the  contract,  but  was  then  levied 
on  for  debts  far  exceeding  in  amount  what  the  real  estate  was 
worth.  A  large  number  of  those  who  had  subscribed  to  the 
endowment  were  at  this  Assembly,  and  with  great  unanimity  they 
declared  themselves  absolved  from  the  payment  of  their  subscrip- 
tions. 

The  Committee  on  Education  then  reported  in  favor  of  select- 
ing a  more  eligible  si^e  for  the  church  college.  Their  report  was 
adopted,  it  is  said,  with  only  three  dissenting  voices.  It  recom- 
mended the  appointment  of  a  commission  to  receive  bids,  to  locate 
the  school,  and  to  make  arrangements  for  buildings  and  for  all 
other  necessary'  things,  so  as  to  enable  the  new  college  to  begin  its 
work  in  September;  but  with  the  distinct  understanding  that  the 
commission  was  forbidden  to  contract  any  debts.  The  General 
Assembly  had  sufficiently  tested  the  credit  system,  and  was  thor- 
oughly sick  of  being  in  debt.  After  this  motion  was  carried,  it 
was  resolved  to  allow  Princeton  also  to  put  in  its  bid.  Other  and 
different  statements  concerning  this  final  action  have  been  pub- 
lished, but  the  original  records  of  the  General  Assembly  are  fol- 
lowed in  this  account.  The  removal  of  the  college  had  long  been 
spoken  of,  and  for  some  time  had  been  distinctly  foreseen  by  lead- 
ing men  of  the  church. 

The  commission  met  in  Nashville,  July  i,  1842.  It  was  com- 
posed of  the  ablest  and  purest  men  of  the  church,  among  them 
Robert  Donnell,  Reuben  Burrow,  and  James  B.  Porter.  The  bid  of 
Lebanon,  which  was  by  far  the  best,  was  accepted,  and  the  school 
was  located  there.  The  histor\'  of  this  college  belongs  to  another 
chapter,  but  one  item  deserves  to  be  put  on  record  here.  Every 
dollar  of  Lebanon's  bid  was  promptly  paid.     When  the  commis- 


Chapter  XXII.]  CUMBERI.AND   COLLEGE.  219 

siou  met  a  vigorous  protest  from  the  Cumberland  College  Associa- 
tion against  the  attempt  to  remove  the  college  from  Princeton  was 
presented. 

To  the  next  General  Assembly,  May,  1843,  ^^^^  commissioners 
made  their  report,  announcing  that  they  had  located  the  college 
at  Lebanon,  Wilson  County,  Tennessee,  and  that  the  school  was 
already  in  successful  operation.  This  report  referred  to  the  remon- 
strance of  Cumberland  College  Association  against  the  removal  of 
the  college  from  Princeton,  but  declared  that  since  "the  General 
Assembly  had  decided  on  a  removal  of  the  college,  and  appointed 
commissioners  to  locate  it,  the  Association's  remonstrance,  unac- 
companied by  any  proposition  or  any  guarantee  that  the  institution 
would  be  disenthralled  from  its  pecuniary  embarrassments,  did  not 
present  sufficient  reasons  to  the  commissioners  to  justify  their 
departure  from  the  instructions  of  the  General  Assembly." 

It  set  forth  four  reasons  which  had  influenced  the  Assembly  to 
provide  for  the  removal  of  the  college:  First,  Many  had  been  led  to 
regfard  the  location  at  Princeton  unfavorable  because  less  than  one 
fourth  of  the  subscription  originally  made  by  the  citizens  of  that 
town  had  been  paid.  Second,  During  several  years  after  the  loca- 
tion of  the  college  at  Princeton,  agents  appointed  by  the  General 
Assembly  had  traveled  in  different  directions  soliciting  and  receiv- 
ing donations.  An  impression  had  gone  abroad  that  a  large 
amount  had  been  received,  and  this  impression,  though  to  some 
extent  erroneous,  had,  when  viewed  in  connection  with  the  con- 
tinued pecuniary  embarrassments  of  the  college,  created  in  many 
minds  a  prejudice  against  the  location.  Third,  The  report  declared 
that  the  disastrous  failure  to  relieve  the  institution  of  debt  by  leas- 
ing it  to  individuals,  and  its  continued  and  augmented  indebted- 
ness in  spite  of  all  measures  for  its  relief,  had  done  much  to  alien- 
ate the  minds  and  feelings  of  the  people  from  Princeton  as  a  suita- 
ble location  for  the  college.  Fourth,  The  final  effort  to  relieve  the 
institution  from  its  embarrassment  by  the  formation  of  the  Cum- 
berland College  Association  was  also  described,  and  the  failure  of 
this  effort,  the  report  said,  had  tended  still  more  to  discourage  the 
church  with  regard  to  the  success  of  the  college  at  Princeton. 

The  commissioners  then  gave  their  reasons  for  selecting  Leb- 


220  CUMBERI.AND   PRESBYTERIAN   HiSTORY  [Period  III. 

anon  as  "a  more  eligible  site"  for  the  church  college.  The  citi- 
zens of  that  town  proposed  the  erection  of  a  large  and  commodious 
edifice  for  the  school.  Lebanon  was  known  to  be  a  healthful 
place,  and  was  one  of  the  most  flourishing  towns  in  the  State.  A 
large  number  of  its  citizens  were  intelligent  and  energetic  members 
of  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  church,  who  were  interested  in 
the  college  and  able  to  help  it.  The  people  generally  were  well 
di-sposed  toward  the  church,  and  in  Wilson  and  adjoining  counties 
there  was  a  strong  Cumberland  Presbyterian  influence.  The  soci- 
ety of  Lebanon  was  refined  and  moral;  its  people  were  hospitable; 
dissipation  was  banished  from  the  town. 

The  Lebanon  people  had  promised  to  build  an  edifice  two 
stories  high  and  one  hundred  feet  long;  but  this  report  informed 
the  General  Assembly  that  the  building  actually  erected  was 
"three  stories  high,  one  hundred  and  ten  feet  long,  and  forty  feet 
wide,"  conveniently  constructed  of  substantial  materials,  and  cov- 
ered with  cedar  shingles,  and  that  "the  comb  of  the  roof"  was 
about  fifty-five  feet  from  the  foundation,  and  the  highest  part  of 
the  dome  seventy-five  feet.  This  building,  the  report  said,  was  to 
be  completed  in  July.  There  were  then  forty-five  students  in 
attendance.  The  trustees  had  made  arrangements  by  which  young 
men  preparing  for  the  ministry  might  be  educated  without  the 
payment  of  tuition. 

The  report  explained  that  the  General  Assembly  did  not  have  or 
claim  to  have  any  right  or  title  to  the  incorporated  powers  or  privi- 
leges, or  the  property  of  Cumberland  College  Association,  or  con- 
template the  removal  of  any  of  these.  It  said  that  the  Assembh-'s 
trustees,  an  incorporated  body  entirely  distinct  from  the  Cumber- 
land College  Association,  held,  and  were  intended  to  hold,  the 
endowment  of  the  college,  of  which  the  interest  alone  could  be 
used.  All  that  was  understood  or  intended  by  the  removal  of  the 
college  was  the  appropriation  of  this  endowment  at  another  place. 
The  report  expressed  the  opinion  that  the  General  Assembly  had 
the  right  "to  direct  the  application  of  the  endowment  to  such 
place  as  the  college  might  be  removed  to,"  but  suggested  that  for 
the  sake  of  peace  subscribers  who  had  pledged  money  to  the 
endowment  fund  should  be  allowed  to  pay  it  for  the  use  of  either 


Chapter  XXII.]  CUMBERI^AND   COLLEGE.  221 

the  college  at  Princeton  or  the  one  at  I^ebanon,  at  the  election  of 
such  subscribers.  It  also  declared  that,  should  the  General  Assem- 
bly desire  to  endow  a  college  at  Princeton,  the  commissioners  were 
assured  that  the  friends  and  patrons  of  the  Lebanon  school  would 
make  no  objection  to  any  equitable  arrangement;  but  denied  that 
the  resolves  of  former  General  Assemblies  to  raise  an  endowment 
for  Cumberland  College  were  legally  binding  on  the  Assembly  then 
sittinof  or  on  the  church. 

The  ground  taken  by  the  friends  of  Princeton  was  that  the 
General  Assembly  had  no  power  to  sever  its  connection  with  the 
college  at  Princeton,  and  that  that  connection  still  existed.  They 
presented  these  views  in  a  communication  to  the  General  Assembly. 
The  decision  was  against  them,  the  vote  being  thirty-six  to  twenty- 
eight.  This  decision  is  embodied  in  the  report  of  the  Committee 
on  Education,  to  which  this  question  was  referred,  and  of  which 
Richard  Beard  was  chairman.  After  declaring  that  the  committee 
"entered  into  the  investigation  with  a  settled  determination  most 
rigidly  to  follow  truth  and  justice  to  whatever  decision  their  con- 
sciences and  their  judgment  might  be  conducted,"  this  report  goes 
on  to  say  that,  after  an  elaborate  review  of  the  facts,  the  committee 
but  yielded  to  the  overwhelming  weight  of  these  facts  and  the 
clearest  convictions  of  justice  in  coming  to  the  conclusion  that  the 
action  of  the  General  Assembly  in  dissolving  its  connection  with 
Cumberland  College  Association  "was  not  only  altogether  justifia- 
ble, but  imperiously  demanded  by  a  proper  self-respect  and  the 
dearest  interests  of  the  confiding  community  for  whose  good  that 
high  judicatory  is  appointed." 

The  report  continues: 

What  loss  has  that  Association  sustained  bj  the  action  of  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly  of  1S43?  All  the  debts  against  it  are  understood  to  be 
now  paid  by  the  sale  of  the  college  property.  Not  a  dollar  is  pointed 
out  to  as  actually  lost  by  the  Association  on  account  of  that  action. 
The  pretended  wrongs  complained  of  seem  to  be  a  withholding  of  the 
prospective  munificence  of  the  General  Assembly  from  them. 

After  declaring  that  the  General  Assembly  and  not  the  Associa- 
tion was  the  injured  and  suffering  party,  the  report  closed  with  two 
resolutions: 


222  CUMBERI.AND   PRESBYTERIAN   HiSTORY.         [Period  III. 

Resolved,  In  view  of  the  premises,  and  in  the  exercise  of  the  rights 
recognized  in  the  amended  charter  of  1841,  that  the  General  Assembly 
of  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  church,  in  the  exercise  of  its  just 
rights,  and  in  view  of  the  facts  which  in  its  opinion  at  the  time  fully 
justified  that  action,  did  on  the  22d  day  of  May,  1842,  intentionally  dis- 
solve its  ecclesiastical  connection  from  Cumberland  College  Association 
thereby  leaving  the  property  and  rights  of  said  Association  to  revert  to 
the  same,  according  to  the  provisions  of  its  charter. 

2.  That  in  view  of  the  rights  and  interests  of  all  concerned,  the  pres- 
ent subscribers  to  the  endowing  fund  be  authorized  and  advised  at  their 
own  discretion  to  determine  the  place  to  which  they  will  pay  over  their 
subscriptions,  they  being  fully  competent  to  act  for  themselves. 

Dr.  Beard  did  not  vote  for  liis  committee's  report,  but  joined  in 
the  strong  protest  against  it,  which  was  put  on  record. 

This  protest  denied  that  the  General  Assembly  of  1842  did 
sever  its  connection  with  Cumberland  College  Association,  or  that 
the  General  Assembly  had  fulfilled  all  obligations  to  that  Associ- 
ation. It  claimed  that  a  more  vigorous  effort  should  have  been 
made  to  endow  the  college,  that  the  zeal  and  unanimity  of  the 
General  Assembly  in  1840  had  led  to  hopes  that  had  not  been 
realized,  and  that  if  the  members  of  the  Association  had  expected 
so  sudden  an  abandonment  of  the  institution  they  would  have  pre- 
ferred to  look  elsewhere  for  endowment  and  patronage.  The 
protest  further  expressed  the  belief  that  the  Association  had  sus- 
tained losses  through  the  General  Assembly's  action;  that  "if  the 
affairs  of  the  institution  had  been  wound  up  in  1840  the  property 
would  not  only  have  paid  the  debts  but  returned  to  the  members 
of  the  Association  their  original  stock."  This,  however,  was 
charged  not  to  any  wrong  intention  on  the  part  of  the  General 
Assembly,  but  to  hasty  and  unadvised  legislation.  The  protest 
admitted  that  the  General  Assembly  had  been  injured  and  had 
suffered  from  its  connection  with  Cumberland  College  Association, 
but  denied  that  the  injury  and  suflfering  originated  with  that 
Association. 

Dr.  Beard,  and  the  minority  of  the  Committee  on  Education, 
had  presented  a  plan  for  the  settlement  of  these  difficulties,  in 
which  it  was  proposed  to  transfer  the  General  Assembly's  legal 
powers  and  responsibilities  in  relation  to  Cumberland  College,  and 


Chapter  XXII.]  CUMBERLAND   COLLEGE.  22$ 

the  control  of  the  Board  of  Trustees,  to  an  association  composed 
of  eleven  individuals,  and  to  bind  Cumberland  College  Association 
to  relinquish  its  claims  on  the  General  Assembly  and  to  allow  the 
moneys  subscribed  to  the  endowment  to  be  invested  at  Princeton 
or  Lebanon,  or  elsewhere,  as  the  donors  might  direct.  The  protest 
expressed  the  solemn  belief  that  this  plan  would  have  met  the 
views  and  wishes  of  the  Cumberland  College  Association,  and  that 
it  would  have  effectually  disencumbered  the  General  Assembly  of 
the  affairs  of  the  college  without  compromising  any  essential  or 
important  principle. 

Any  wish  to  embarrass  the  General  Assembly  was  disclaimed, 
and  it  was  declared  that  those  who  made  this  protest  were  the  fast, 
unwavering  friends  of  the  church,  and  that  they  wished  the  Gen- 
eral Assembl)'  to  be  freed  as  far  as  possible  from  all  causes  of 
agitation  and  confusion.  This  protest  was  signed  by  Robert  Sloan, 
Caleb  Weeden,  Elam  McCord,  James  Smith,  William  Henr}^,  G. 
A.  Fleming,  Joel  Lambert,  F.  C.  Usher,  David  Negly,  H.  Mc- 
Daniel,  A.  H.  Dudley,  Richard  Beard,  Milton  Bird,  James  Ritchey, 
William  Halsell,  James  Ashmore,  A.  Shelby,  and  P.  G.  Rea.  John 
S.  Sawyer  appended  a  personal  protest  in  which  he  added  other 
reasons  for  objecting  to  the  action  of  the  General  Assembly. 

After  the  adoption  of  the  report  and  the  presentation  of  this 
protest  against  it,  the  friends  of  Princeton  introduced  a  resolution 
declaring  it  inexpedient  for  the  General  Assembly  to  have  control 
of  any  financial  enterprise.  Dr.  Cossitt,  Robert  Donnell,  J.  S., 
McClain,  and  the  friends  of  Lebanon  generally  supported  the  reso- 
lution. Only  six  negative  votes  were  cast,  while  fifty-nine  voted 
in  the  affirmative.     The  resolution  was  in  these  words: 

Resolved,  That  it  would  be  unwise,  impolitic,  inexpedient,  and  con- 
trary to  the  genius  of  presbyterian  government  for  the  General  Assem- 
bly to  enter  into  connections  of  a  pecuniary  nature  giving  it  the  super- 
vision of  any  literary  institution  or  newspaper,  or  otherwise  to  become 
embarrassed  l)y  the  control  of  pecuniary  matters,  so  as  to  give  occasion 
for  its  moral  integrity  and  good  faith  to  be  called  in  question. 

When  the  General  Assembly  severed  its  connection  with  Prince- 
ton College,  the  authorities  of  that  school  resolved  to  keep  it  alive. 
They  allowed  the  farm  to  be  sold,  resenting  the  buildings  and  ten 


224  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  in. 

acres  of  ground.  After  a  brief  suspension  they  reorganized  a  fac- 
ulty, and  spread  the  "banner  of  the  college  again  to  the  breeze. 
The  Rev.  Richard  Beard  was  elected  president,  and  accepted  the 
position.  The  career  of  the  college  after  its  abandonment  by  the 
General  Assembly  was  happier  and  more  useful  than  ever  before. 
It  kept  clear  of  debt.  It  secured  the  services  of  that  excellent 
agent,  the  Rev.  W.  G.  h.  Quaite,  who,  in  spite  of  all  the  limita- 
tions placed  upon  him  by  the  unfortunate  histoiy  of  the  school, 
succeeded  in  securing  considerable  subscriptions  to  tlie  endowment. 
Green  River  Synod  took  the  cast-off  child  under  its  care.  A  jrood 
faculty  was  secured,  and  the  existence  of  the  institution  was  pro- 
tracted till  1858.  At  that  time  it  ceased  to  be  an  institution  of  the 
Cumberland  Presb}'terian  church. 

The  outward  histor}'  of  the  college  has  thus  far  been  followed. 
A  few  words  are  added  about  its  inner  domestic  histor\'.  Let  us  go 
back  to  the  origin  of  the  college  in  1826,  and  take  glimpses  only, 
until  the  close  in  1858. 

Economy  was  a  standing  text  of  the  General  Assembly,  on 
which  it  annually  preached  the  college  a  sermon.  The  faculty  be- 
gan their  administration  in  cap  and  govv'n  a  la  inodc^  but  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly  notified  them  that  it  wished  both  faculty  and  stu- 
dents to  dress  in  home-made  clothing  from  head  to  foot.  The  order 
was  obeyed,  and  Dr.  Beard  says  his  jeans  suit  was  made  too  large 
for  him,  but  he  wore  it  obediently.  The  students  were  required  to 
have  long  linen  aprons  to  wear  while  working  on  the  farm.  Many 
of  the  Southern  boys,  reared  where  slaves  did  all  the  v.'ork,  met 
the  labor  requirements  with  bad  grace,  but  there  were  no  exemp- 
tions. Difficulties  between  students  and  the  overseer  of  the  farm 
were  ver}^  frequent.  The  daily  college  routine  had  many  details 
which  would  seem  strange  now.  Every  two  hours  a  horn  was 
blown  for  a  new  section  of  laborers  on  the  farm.  This  horn  and 
the  ringing  of  recitation  bells  made  the  place  seem  quite  lively. 
Those  recitation  bells  were  unlike  any  others  I  ever  heard.  A  big 
bell  hung  near  by.  Each  professor  did  his  own  ringing  in  his  own 
peculiar  way,  so  that  his  bell  could  be  distinguished  from  all  the 
others.  One  gave  three  clear  taps,  another  gave  two  clear  taps, 
another  gave  one  tap  and  a  jingle.     When  the  hour  was  out  it  did 


Chapter  XXII.]  CUMBERLAND   COLLEGE.  225 

not  follow  that  the  class  would  be  dismissed,  even  if  it  had  a  reci- 
tation in  some  other  room,  until  the  professor  who  had  possession 
got  ready  to  let  it  go. 

Every  student  was  required  to  board  at  the  refector}^  and  sleep 
in  the  college  dormitories.  The  spiciest  part  of  this  history  be- 
longs to  the  refectory.  The  pigeon-holes  in  the  old  library  used 
to  be  full  of  documents  about  that  department  of  the  college. 
Poetry,  records  of  trials,  testimony  of  committees  sent  to  examine 
the  fare,  memorials  of  students  praying  for  changes,  complaints — 
sometimes  by  the  students,  sometimes  by  the  managers — were  all 
filed  there.  The  students  used  to  express  their  dissatisfaction  with 
their  fare  in  doggerel  verse,  and  these  satirical  effusions  were  filed 
with  other  refectory  papers.  When  it  is  remembered  that  the  col- 
lege undertook  to  furnish  boarding  at  forty  dollars  a  year,  we  need 
not  wonder  that  the  fare  was  often  complained  of. 

Concerning  those  honored  gentlemen  who  served  as  presidents 
of  this  institution  a  goodly  volume  might  be  written,  and  no  doubt 
will  be  at  some  future  time.  Under  the  five  different  presidents 
there  were  five  administrations  of  the  college,  each  deserving  a 
much  longer  notice  than  can  here  be  given.  The  first  president 
was  Dr.  Cossitt.  His  management  of  the  young  men  was  wise  and 
fatherly.  There  were  precious  revivals  of  religion  among  the  stu- 
dents at  different  times  during  his  administration.  Dr.  Cossitt' s 
sermons  were  one  of  the  chief  agencies  used  of  God  in  bringing 
these  revivals  about.  For  many  years  the  graduates  and  foster 
children  of  this  school  who  were  trained  under  Dr.  Cossitt' s  in- 
fluence were  the  noblest  workers  for  education  in  the  Cumberland 
Presbyterian  church,  and  among  them  were  many  faithful  and 
efficient  laborers  in  other  departments  of  the  work. 

The  men  who  at  one  time  or  another  assisted  Dr.  Cossitt  in  the 
work  of  instruction  were  James  L.  Morrison,  Bertrand  Guerin, 
David  Lowry,  T.  C.  Anderson,  Livingston  Lindsay,  Richard  Beard, 
F.  C.  Usher,  and  C.  G.  McPherson.  Several  of  these  became  dis- 
tinguished teachers,  and  their  record  is  well  known.  Dr.  McPher- 
son has  spent  a  large  part  of  his  life  in  educating  young  ladies. 
Mr.  Lindsay  went  early  to  the  practice  of  law,  which  he  still  pur- 
sues. Anderson  and  Beard  will  come  before  us  in  other  con- 
15 


2a6  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  iii. 

nections,  as  will  David  Lowry.  But  it  is  proper  to  introduce  here 
au  interesting  item  about  Lowry' s  dwelling-house.  When  he  was 
elected  professor  in  the  college  ten  acres  of  the  college  farm  were 
allotted  for  his  cultivation,  and  fifty  dollars  were  appropriated  to 
build  him  a  house  back  of  the  camp-ground  spring.  In  that  fifty 
dollar  house,  the  man  who  afterward  spent  the  best  years  of  his 
life  as  missionary  among  the  Indians,  lived  without  murmuring. 

Of  the  next  administration,  under  the  presidency  of  the  Rev. 
Richard  Beard,  D.  D.,  I  can  speak  with  the  confidence  given  by 
personal  knowledge.  Dr.  Beard  took  charge  of  the  college  in  1843, 
after  the  Assembly  abandoned  it ;  when  it  was  officially  pronounced 
dead  ;  when  its  faculty  had  transferred  their  labors  to  the  new  insti- 
tution at  Lebanon,  Tennessee;  when,  indeed,  it  was  said  and  thought 
too  that  the  college  itself  had  been  removed  to  Lebanon.  Finding 
itself  abandoned  by  the  church,  Princeton  rallied  and  called  Dr. 
Beard  to  the  presidency.  The  loss  of  the  farm  and  the  manual 
labor  feature  proved  to  be  a  good  riddance. 

The  administration  was  all  new.  There  was  no  more  refectory'; 
no  more  restrictions  laid  on  a  student  in  selecting  his  boarding- 
house;  no  more  laws  requiring  students  and  faculty  to  dress  in 
home-spun.  It  was  like  passing  out  of  Mosaic  rigor  into  Christian 
freedom.  True,  there  was  still  a  printed  code  of  by-laws  nominally 
in  force,  but  the  example  of  Dr.  Beard's  holy  and  dignified  life, 
and  his  appeals  to  the  young  men's  sense  of  right  were  more  effect- 
ive than  all  by-laws.  The  students  respected,  honored,  and  loved 
their  president,  and  were  proud  of  being  under  such  a  leader. 

They  were  like  a  family  of  brothers  with  Dr.  Beard  for  their 
father.  Each  one  felt  that  he  had  a  friend  and  counselor  in  the 
president.  Never  under  any  circumstances  laying  aside  his  dig- 
nity, never  tolerating  any  lack  of  respectful  demeanor  in  his 
presence,  he  yet  was  felt  and  known  to  be  the  true  friend  and 
counselor  of  every  one  of  his  pupils.  When  these  young  men  left 
college  they  never  ceased  to  write  back  to  him  for  advice  in  every 
perplexity.  Of  the  thousands  of  old  letters  which  he  carefully 
kept,  a  large  part  are  from  his  old  students  asking  his  counsel  in 
some  emergency.     None  ever  asked  in  vain. 

All  through  the  college  life  of  his  students  there  was  a  silent, 


Chapter  XXII.]  CUMBERI,AND   COLLEGE.  227 

invisible  influence,  a  subtle,  indescribable  power  going  out  from 
Dr.  Beard's  life  and  impressing  all  around  him  with  the  truth  of 
Christianity  and  the  high  destiny  of  cultivated,  sanctified,  immortal 
manhood.  Scholarship  put  on  a  new  aspect  under  this  influence  ; 
an  undersong  awakening  thoughts  of  personal  responsibility  and 
immortality  blended  with  every  lesson  and  recitation.  This  influ- 
ence soon  spread  over  the  whole  church.  Noble  men,  trained 
under  Dr.  Beard  and  his  colleagues,  carried  this  power  with  them 
wherever  they  went,  and  the  precious  fruits  of  his  administration 
are  earnest  and  consecrated  men  in  the  pulpits  and  colleges  in  all 
parts  of  the  church. 

Those  habits  of  severe  study  which  Dr.  Beard  formed  while  a 
student  of  this  institution,  and  which  were  a  part  of  the  town-talk 
for  thirty  years  afterward,  were  strictly  kept  up  by  him  all  through 
his  life.  An  idle  student,  strolling  about  at  night,  always  met  a 
silent  rebuke  when  he  turned  his  eyes  toward  Dr.  Beard's  library 
where  the  inevitable  lamp  burned  on  until  late  bed-time.  His 
lectures  in  the  chapel  were  one  of  the  potent  moral  and  educational 
resources  of  his  administration.  With  an  equanimity  of  temper 
rarely  equaled,  with  a  clock-like  regularity  of  life  which  governed 
even  the  length  of  his  footsteps,  his  uniform  faultless  precision  was 
the  talk  of  all  the  students. 

The  faculty  who  labored  with  him  in  the  work  of  instruction  at 
one  time  or  another  were  the  Rev.  F.  C.  Usher,  the  Rev.  J.  G. 
Biddle,  Philip  Riley,  W.  S.  Delany,  and  the  Rev.  Azel  Freeman, 
D.  D.  Except  Dr.  Freeman,  these  were  all  alumni  of  Cumberland 
College.  Mr.  Usher  had  also  been  graduated  in  the  Theological 
School  at  Princeton,  New  Jersey.  Riley  and  Delany  were  grad- 
uated under  Dr.  Beard.  Mr.  Delany  soon  turned  his  attention  to 
the  legal  profession,  to  which  he  is  still  devoted.  Professor  Riley 
spent  his  life  in  teaching.  He  was  one  of  the  purest  and  truest  of 
men.  His  memory  and  his  very  looks  are  still  enshrined  in  many 
hearts.  One  incident  will  illustrate  his  conduct  toward  his  stu- 
dents: A  young  man  who  was  very  poor,  and  often  unable  to  buy 
text-books,  went  one  day  to  Professor  Riley  to  borrow  a  copy  of 
Smellie.  He  was  told  to  come  back  next  day.  That  evening  Pro- 
fessor Riley  went  to  town  and  bought  a  copy  of  Smellie,  and  when 


228  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History       [Period  in. 

the  student  returned  he  loaned  him  the  book.  An  accident  revealed 
the  fact  that  he  had  bought  the  book  specially  for  this  student. 

Mr.  Biddle  remained  only  a  short  time  in  Princeton  College,  and 
then  took  charge  of  the  school  for  young  ladies  at  Winchester, 
Tennessee,  devoting  the  remainder  of  his  life  to  teaching  in  this 
school  and  to  preaching  the  gospel.  He  labored  as  both  teacher 
and  preacher  even  while  at  Princeton.  He  has  a  son  now  in  the 
ministry,  the  Rev.  A.  C.  Biddle. 

The  Rev.  Azel  Freeman,  D.D.,  afterward  president  of  three  of 
our  colleges,  was  for  a  while  professor  of  mathematics  in  Cumber- 
land College.  The  closing  years  of  his  life  were  spent  in  pastoral 
work  in  Pennsylvania  and  Ohio.  He  died  at  Cumberland,  Ohio, 
December  3,  1886.  Dr.  Beard  closed  his  connection  with  the  in- 
stitution in  1855.  That  was  its  death  blow.  The  church  every- 
where so  felt.  Still  three  good  men  struggled,  each  for  a  short 
period,  to  save  the  dying  institution,  and  some  noble  alumni  were 
sent  out  by  them;  but  the  three  administrations  averaged  only  a 
year  apiece.  Then  the  institution  was  given  up  by  Cumberland 
Presbyterians  and  other  churches  tried  for  a  year  or  two  to  sustain 
it,  but  finally  abandoned  it.  Princeton  still  has  a  college  on  another 
site  and  under  new  auspices,  but  it  is  in  no  sense  the  successor  of 
old  Cumberland  College.  The  latter  has  utterly  passed  away,  every 
vestige  even  of  the  old  buildings  having  disappeared. 

Of  the  alumni  of  Cumberland  College,  the  Rev.  W.  G.  L. 
Quaite  once  said:  "I  can  track  every  one  of  them  by  a  path 
of  light."  This  dear  old  college,  even  in  its  mistakes,  bore  good 
fruit.  Our  people  had  to  learn  by  experience.  Cumberland  Pres- 
byterians will  hardly  attempt  another  manual  labor  college.  They 
have  seen  and  felt  the  curse  of  the  credit  system.  They  will 
not  be  likely  to  locate  another  college  where  the  church  is  weak, 
expecting  the  members  of  other  churches  and  outsiders  to  give  the 
institution  the  necessary  local  support.  Nor  will  they  again  make 
the  fatal  blunder  of  placing  the  financial  management  of  such  an 
enterprise  in  the  hands  of  the  General  Assembly.  Even  these 
mistakes  bear  fruit;  but  the  grand  and  deathless  fruit  which  out- 
weighs all  else  is  found  in  the  men  who  were  trained  in  this  insti- 
tution, and  in  the  souls  that  have  been  won  through  their  labors. 


Chapter  XXIII.]  ThE   ChuRCH   PAPER.  229 


CHAPTER   XXIII. 


THE  CHURCH  PAPER. 

"Away  with  distrust  and  away  with  despair, 
Beyond  all  my  thoughts  and  above  all  my  prayer 
Exceeding  abundantly  Jesus  will  prove, 
The  power  and  grace  of  his  wonderful  love." 

"  Afettie  manuque  potefis.^^ 

THE  chapter  now  to  be  written  is  the  darkest  one  in  all  the 
history  of  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  church ;  and,  perhaps, 
the  very  hardest  to  write  correctly.  Two  parties,  with  wholly  dif- 
ferent views  of  what  was  right,  and  also  with  different  views  about 
what  were  the  facts,  have  left  us  their  conflicting  testimony. 

The  formidable  difficulties  which  grew  out  of  the  church  paper 
can  not  be  explained  without  a  general  sketch  of  that  paper's 
history.  At  Princeton,  Kentucky,  early  in  the  year  1830,  Dr. 
Cossitt,  aided  by  the  faculty  of  Cumberland  College,  started  a 
weekly  paper  called  the  Religions  and  Literary  Intelligencer. 
There  had  before  this  been  several  abortive  attempts  to  start  a 
church  paper,  but  this  was  the  first  Cumberland  Presbyterian  paper 
which  was  really  published.  It  was  purely  a  private  enterprise. 
The  press  was  owned  by  the  Rev.  David  Lowry,  who  at  that  time 
was  one  of  the  faculty  of  Cumberland  College,  and  who  was  Dr. 
Cossitt' s  chief  assistant  in  the  editorial  work. 

The  General  Assembly  of  the  church  met  in  Princeton  that 
year,  as  it  had  done  the  year  before.  A  strong  feeling  was  man- 
ifested in  favor  of  a  church  organ,  whose  editor  should  be  under 
the  control  of  the  General  Assembly.  When  the  men  who  were 
publishing  the  Religions  and  Literary  Intelligencer  met  this  Gen- 
eral Assembly,  they  submitted  to  that  body  a  proposition  to  have 
their  paper  made  the  recognized  organ  of  the  church.  In  consid- 
eration of  this  advantage  they  agreed  that  the  Assembly  should 


230  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  iii. 

have  the  exclusive  right  to  appoint  the  editor.  The  records  show 
that  the  proposition  was  accepted  with  the  understanding  that  the 
General  Assembly  should  neither  own  the  press  nor  assume  any 
financial  responsibility  in  the  matter.  The  Rev.  David  Lowry  was 
chosen  editor,  it  being  understood  that  he  should  resign  all  his 
former  relations  to  the  college  and  devote  his  whole  time  to  the 
paper.  He  proved  to  be  well  suited  to  the  place.  His  adminis- 
tration was  a  good  one.  His  financial  management  was  wise.  His 
editorials  were  able  and  his  spirit  Christ-like. 

In  1832  he  moved  the  paper  to  Nashville,  changed  its  name  to 
The  Revivalist^  and  made  the  Rev.  James  Smith  his  partner. 
This  was  not  exactly  authorized  by  the  contract  under  which  the 
paper  became  the  organ  of  the  General  Assembly,  but  it  was 
allowed  to  pass.  The  publication  had  prospered  under  Lowry' s 
editorial  and  business  management  until  he  felt  able  to  have  an 
assistant.  Smith  was  a  Scotchman  of  great  learning,  and  a  preacher 
of  strong  influence  throughout  the  West.  He,  however,  liked  to 
lead  and  expected  others  to  follow. 

Before  a  year  passed  away  Lowry  sold  out  to  Smith,  leaving  the 
latter  in  sole  management  of  the  paper.  It  is  by  no  means  certain 
that  the  Assembly,  if  left  untrammeled,  would  have  chosen  Smith 
for  its  editor,  but  when  it  met  in  1833  ^^^*^  found  him  already  in 
possession,  it  "accepted  the  situation"  and  continued  him  in  this 
position.  In  business  matters  Smith  carried  far  more  sail  than 
ballast.  He  issued  his  paper  to  subscribers  on  a  credit.  He  bor- 
rowed money  extensively  and  gave  his  brethren  in  the  ministry  for 
security.  When  he  was  "in  funds"  instead  of  paying  off  these 
debts  and  saving  his  securities,  he  started  new  enterprises  and  made 
more  debts.  He  contracted  to  publish  all  the  books  of  the  church, 
and  these  books  were  generally  sold  on  a  credit.  He  edited  and 
published  a  monthly  magazine  of  his  own.  He  was  "pastor"  of 
the  Nashville  church.  He  published  books,  too,  of  his  own,  large 
works  which  required  the  best  energies  of  his  strong  manhood,  so 
that,  in  his  own  editorials,  he  tells  us  the  paper  was  neglected  on 
this  account.  Nor  were  these  all  the  labors  which  he  undertook. 
He  was  stated  clerk  of  the  General  Assembly;  he  was  treasurer  of  the 
church  fund,  and  he  taxed  himself  with  various  smaller  matters. 


Chapter  XXIII.]  ThE   ChURCH    PAPER.  231 

In  1834  the  name  of  the  paper  was  changed  to  the  Cumberland 
Presbyterian.  When  the  General  Assembly  met  that  year,  Smith 
was  hopelessly  in  debt.  He  laid  all  the  blame  of  his  embarrass- 
ment on  the  church  because  the  people  had  not  patronized  the 
paper  as  he  expected.  The  Assembly  resolved  to  do  two  things  for 
his  relief.  First,  to  raise  twelve  hundred  dollars  then  and  there,  to 
be  loaned  to  Smith  or  exchanged  for  unpaid  subscription  bills. 
Second,  to  extend  the  patronage  of  the  paper  during  the  next  year 
to  four  thousand  subscribers.  The  first  resolution  was  carried  out, 
but  the  second  was  never  fully  made  good. 

On  this  action  was  based  the  best  semblance  of  just  ground  for 
complaint  which  the  editor  ever  had  against  the  General  Assembly. 
The  subscription  was  never  raised  to  four  thousand.  While  some 
exerted  themselves  to  secure  new  subscribers,  old  ones  were  con- 
stantly withdrawing.  There  were  several  reasons  for  these  with- 
drawals. One  of  them  is  greatly  to  Smith's  credit.  He  kept  up 
incessantly  the  cry  for  reform  in  paying  preachers  and  in  having 
settled  pastors.  He  was  sometimes  very  severe;  the  facts  called 
for  severity,  but  subscribers  grew  sore  under  it  and  discontinued 
their  subscriptions.  Another  source  of  dissatisfaction  was  the  mul- 
tiplied engagements  of  the  editor,  and  his  frequent  and  protracted 
absence  from  the  office.  But  greater  than  all  other  causes  of  trouble 
were  the  alienations  which  grew  out  of  his  business  management. 

For  two  years  the  Rev.  T.  C.  Anderson  was  employed  by  Mr. 
Smith  as  assistant  editor.  In  his  manuscript  autobiography, 
written  from  time  to  time  long  before  he  began  to  fail  in  his 
memory,  is  an  extended  accoimt  of  Smith  and  his  paper.  Dr. 
Anderson  says  that  he  himself,  though  working  for  a  definite 
salary,  and  in  nowise  sharing  in  any  profits  which  the  paper  might 
realize,  was  obliged  to  bring  in  all  his  own  funds,  and  all  his  own 
credit,  and  to  draw  into  the  same  snare  all  his  personal  friends  who 
were  willing  to  loan  money  or  indorse  Smith's  notes;  and  that  he 
retired  from  his  connection  with  the  paper  because  he  saw  clearly 
that  Smith's  management  would  bring  bankruptcy,  no  matter  what 
help  the  church  might  be  able  to  render.  He  also  states  that  Smith 
was  often  absent  from  the  office  three  or  four  months  at  a  time 
engaged  in  selling  his  books. 


232  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  iii. 

In  1835  the  General  Assembly  renewed  its  determination  to 
secure  the  four  thousand  subscribers.  The  list  still  fell  six  hundred 
short  of  that  number.  In  1836,  in  spite  of  the  renewed  exertions, 
the  number  of  subscribers  had  declined  rather  than  advanced. 
Bitter  attacks  had  been  made  on  the  paper  and  on  Smith.  The 
General  Assembly  declared  that  so  long  as  the  paper  was  the  church 
organ,  those  attacks  were  really  on  the  church  and  not  on  Smith. 
The  members  renewed  their  pledges  to  struggle  for  an  increase  of 
the  subscription  list,  and  struggle  they  did,  but  it  was  like  pouring 
water  into  a  sieve. 

In  1837,  when  the  General  Assembly  met.  Smith  resigned.  He 
stated  in  his  resignation  that  when  he  was  elected  editor  it  was  un- 
derstood that  the  church  would  buy  the  press,  own  the  paper,  and 
indemnify  him  for  all  the  losses  he  might  sustain  in  the  business. 
The  General  Assembly  did  not  so  understand  matters.  The  official 
papers  are  preserved,  and  have  been  searched  in  vain  for  any  hint 
of  such  an  agreement.  The  records  of  the  General  Assembly  show 
that  Smith  was  to  publish  the  paper  on  his  oum  responsibility^  so 
far  as  its  finances  were  concerned.  Smith  stated  in  editorials,  }'ear 
after  year,  that  he  was  publishing  the  paper  on  his  own  responsi- 
bility, except  that  the  church  had  chosen  him  as  editor,  and  his 
paper  as  the  church  organ.  He  had  simply,  of  his  own  accord, 
stepped  into  Lowry's  place,  and  the  church  allowed  him  to  con- 
tinue in  it.  That  individual  members  had  assured  Smith,  on  their 
own  responsibility,  that  the  church  would  buy  the  press  and 
indemnify  him  for  any  losses  which  he  might  sustain  is  quite 
likely;  that  the  General  Assembly  never  gave  any  such  assurances 
is  absolutely  certain.  He  had  often  urged  the  church  to  buy  his 
subscription  list  and  his  press  and  pay  him  a  salary  as  editor.  His 
failure  to  secure  the  adoption  of  this  policy  had  long  chafed  him. 

The  committee  to  which  Smith's  resignation  was  referred,  sub- 
mitted two  plans  for  the  publication  and  management  of  the  paper. 
The  first  recommended  that  a  joint  stock  company  should  be  formed 
to  own  the  paper  and  the  press,  and  that  the  General  Assembly 
should  still  elect  the  editor.  The  other  plan  was  for  the  General 
Assembly  to  buy  the  paper  and  the  press  and  conduct  the  enterprise 
through  a  publishing  committee.     Investigation  showed  that  both 


Chanter  XXIII.]  ThE  ChURCH   PaPER.  233 

schemes  were  impracticable.  Then  the  General  Assembly  appealed 
to  Smith  to  state  the  conditions  on  which  he  would  be  willing  to 
continue  the  publication  of  the  paper.  He  named  three  con- 
ditions, (i)  That  the  members  of  the  General  Assembly  should 
individually  pledge  themselves  to  help  collect  unpaid  subscriptions. 

(2)  That  the  members  should  pledge  themselves  to  use  all  practi- 
cable exertions  to  bring  the  list  up  to  four  thousand  subscribers. 

(3)  That  the  General  Assembly  should  publish  a  circular  calling 
on  all  the  members  and  friends  of  the  church  to  aid  in  carrying  out 
these  pledges.  All  of  these  conditions  were  unanimously  agreed 
to.  Smith  then  pledged  himself  to  carry  on  the  work  until  the 
volume  then  commenced  should  be  completed,  and  then  either  to 
hand  the  paper  over  to  an  association  or  continue  it  himself,  or 
else  cease  to  publish  it. 

When  the  General  Assembly  met  in  1838,  Smith,  without  any 
conditions,  asked  to  be  continued  as  editor,  and  his  request  was 
granted.  It  was  decided  at  this  time  that  the  next  General  Assem- 
bly should  not  meet  until  1840.  Therefore,  the  dissolution  of  the 
General  Assembly  of  1838  was  equivalent  to  an  adjournment  for 
two  years.  The  first  of  January,  1839,  Smith  began  a  series  of 
editorials  on  reformation  in  the  church.  The  pastoral  relation,  the 
pay  of  preachers,  the  mode  of  raising  money  for  preachers,  and  the 
education  of  the  ministry  were  the  themes.  While  justice  requires 
it  to  be  said  that  the  evils  which  he  denounced  were  beyond  the 
possibility  of  exaggeration,  and  the  excoriations  which  he  gave  the 
church  were  all  richly  deserved;  yet  the  terrible  denunciations  were 
not  always  of  a  nature  to  be  endured,  even  by  those  who  believed 
about  those  matters  as  the  editor  did. 

After  all,  it  may  have  been  necessary  to  make  the  crew  angry 
and  bring  the  ship  within  an  inch  of  hopeless  wreck  in  order  to 
insure  better  navigation  in  after  years.  God's  merciful  and  over- 
ruling hand  was  doubtless  in  it  all.  Men  began  to  reply  to  Smith's 
severe  denunciations  of  the  church  in  his  own  columns.  Several 
of  Smith's  editorials  had  prophesied  secession.  All  the  best  min- 
isters, he  predicted,  would  be  driven  out  of  the  church,  unless  cer- 
tain reforms  took  place.  As  there  was  to  be  no  General  Assembly 
that  year,  he  called  for  a  convention.     His  call  was  seconded,  and 


234  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  in. 

a  convention  was  agreed  upon  to  meet  in  Nashville  at  the  time 
usually  appointed  for  the  General  Assembly's  meeting.  A  year 
before  Smith  had  sold  his  printing  office,  and  agreed  to  take  his 
pay  in  printing.  Before  the  convention  met  the  publication  of  the 
paper  was  suspended,  and  the  closing  editorial,  as  well  as  several 
previous  editorials,  declared  in  the  most  unequivocal  manner  that 
Smith  was  forever  done  with  all  connection  with  the  church  paper. 
He  urged  the  church  to  have  an  organ,  but  declared  his  purpose  to 
be  unalterably  fixed  not  to  be  its  editor.'  The  last  issue  of  the 
paper  at  Nashville  was  dated  April  30,  1839.  If  editorial  declara- 
tions could  settle  any  thing,  it  was  settled  that  Smith  was,  under 
no  conditions,  ever  to  be  church  editor  again. 

Although  Smith  was  not  appointed  by  his  presbytery  as  a  dele- 
gate to  the  convention,  yet  he  was  allowed  to  take  his  seat  as  a 
member,  and  he  occupied  one  whole  day  in  a  set  speech  on  the 
necessity  of  reforms.  He  published  this  speech  afterward  in  a 
pamphlet.  I  have  only  some  extracts  from  it,  not  being  able  to 
secure  a  copy.  He  said:  "The  ministr}'  of  the  Cumberland  Pres- 
byterian church  are  a  mass  of  ignorance,  heresy,  and  fanaticism." 
He  charged  lying  and  fraud  upon  the  General  Assembly,  and  other 
pleasant  little  compliments  to  the  denomination  inflated  his  sails  in 
that  wonderful  harangue.  But  all  this  was  mild  compared  to  the 
wormwood,  the  gall,  the  pits  atqiie  venemim^  which  his  private 
letters  for  the  next  few  years  poured  forth.  Several  hundreds  of 
these  letters  have  been  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  writer  of  this 
history. 

The  convention  passed  resolutions  in  favor  of  reform.  It 
appointed  a  committee  to  form  a  stock  company  to  continue  the 
publication  of  the  Cninbcrland  Presbyterian.  It  decided  to  have 
this  paper  issued  from  Lebanon  instead  of  Nashville.  The  Rev. 
George  Donnell  was  chosen  editor.  Its  publication  was  to  be 
delayed  till  the  fall  meetings  of  the  presbyteries.  At  this  point  in 
the  history  some  conflict  as  to  facts  begins.  Members  and  friends 
of  the  convention  say  that  Smith  asked  such  an  enormous  price  for 
his  subscription  list  that  no  one  could  think  of  paying  it.  Smith 
denies  that  any  conference  with  him  on  the  subject  of  his  subscrip- 

'  See  editorials  January  22,  January  29,  and  April  30,  1839. 


Chapter  XXIII.]  ThE  ChuRCH   PaPER.  235 

tion  list  was  ever  sought.  T.  C.  Anderson  is  very  positive  on  the 
other  side.  One  thing  all  are  agreed  upon,  the  subscription  list  of 
Smith's  Cumberland  Presbyterian  was  not  purchased;  but  the  con- 
vention resolved  to  start  a  paper  with  the  same  name  to  be  the  or- 
gan of  the  church.  It  was  at  this  point  in  its  action  that  the  con- 
vention proved  afterward  to  be  vulnerable.  The  committee  which 
reported  the  plan  of  action  which  was  adopted  by  the  conven- 
tion was  composed  of  Hiram  A,  Hunter,  J.  S.  McClain,  Carson  P. 
Reed,  George  Donnell,  T.  B.  Wilson,  Jesse  Ford,  and  George  Will- 
iamson. 

^  The  first  of  September,  just  before  the  fall  meetings  of  the  pres- 
byteries, lo!  Smith's  paper  reappeared!  This  time  it  was  issued  at 
Springfield,  Tennessee,  and  some  brethren,  who  had  plenty  of  money, 
were  meeting  its  financial  wants.  It  claimed  still  to  be  the  organ 
of  the  church,  and  the  only  organ.  It  explained  its  reappearance 
as  a  necessity,  since  the  Lebanon  committee  had  neither  bought  out 
its  subscription  list,  nor  made  any  provisions  to  supply  the  paper  to 
subscribers  whose  time  had  not  expired.  It  denounced  the  conven- 
tion as  a  clique,  and  declared  the  action  of  that  body  in  assuming 
to  publish  an  organ  for  the  church  unconstitutional  and  seditious. 

The  defense  made  by  the  friends  of  the  convention  is  all  summed 
up  in  a  few  words.  They  said  that  the  convention  claimed  no  power 
to  make  any  paper  a  church  organ,  but  met  and  acted  simply  to 
keep  alive  the  organ  which  the  General  Assembly  itself  had  started; 
that  it  had  the  strongest  evidences  that  Smith  was  forever  done 
with  the  paper;  that  it  met  on  Smith's  call,  without  any  hint  or 
dream  of  any  conflict  like  the  one  which  had  arisen;  and  that 
Smith  himself  cooperated  heartily  with  the  convention  until  he 
found  that  another  man  was  to  be  chosen  editor,  and  that  his  sub- 
scription list  was  not  to  be  bought  at  an  extravagant  price.  They 
said  further  that  the  convention  had  resolved  to  do  its  utmost  in 
'the  next  General  Assembly,  and  before  the  meeting  of  that  body, 
to  have  Smith  indemnified  for  all  the  losses  he  had  sustained 
through  any  fault  of  the  church.  They  showed  that  the  conven- 
tion was  composed  of  fifty  delegates,  among  them  many  of  the 
purest  men  of  the  church,  appointed  by  the  presbyteries  in  obedi- 
ence to  a  public  call;  and  that  if  any  presbyteries  were  not  repre- 


236  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  in. 

sen  ted  it  was  their  own  fault;  that  the  convention  acted  in  an 
emergency,  under  the  pressure  of  a  great  necessity;  and  ^that  the 
changes  made  in  regard  to  the  business  management  were  such  as 
the  imperative  necessities  of  the  case  required,  and  such  as  the 
General  Assembly  resolved  on  in  1837,  when  Smith  first  tendered 
his  resignation. 

That  Smith  had  the  legal  right  to  resume  the  publication  of  his 
paper  and  call  it  the  organ  of  the  church  was  generally  conceded; 
but  the  propriety  of  his  course,  after  his  unequivocal  declaration, 
in  April,  was  questioned.  Parties  rapidly  formed.  Angry  feelings 
were  stirred  up.  The  presbyteries  nearly  all  took  action  in  favor 
of  one  party  or  the  other.  Finis  Ewing  and  John  L.  Dillard,  both 
threw  their  great  influence  on  the  side  of  Smith's  paper.  Logan 
Presbytery  passed  resolutions  condemning  the  convention,  and 
declaring  Smith's  paper  the  true  organ  of  the  church.  Alabama 
Presbytery  did  likewise.  Richland  Presbytery  and  all  of  Columbia 
Synod,  with  Robert  Donnell  at  their  head,  took  the  side  of  the  con- 
rention  and  requested  the  members  of  their  congregations  not  to 
take  Smith's  paper. 

Secession,  division,  disruption  were  the  words  floating  in  the 
air.  After  nearly  all  the  presbyteries  had  arrayed  themselves  as  par- 
tisans in  the  contest,  and  many  of  our  best  men  had  utterly  de- 
spaired, a  synod  in  Illinois  passed  resolutions  calling  on  all  parties 
to  agree  to  submit  the  whole  question  to  the  next  General  Assem- 
bly, and  to  forbear  all  further  discussion  of  the  merits  of  the  case 
till  that  Assembly  should  meet,  and  urging  all  true  lovers  of  Jesus 
to  join  in  prayer  to  God  for  the  peace  of  the  church. '  That  voice 
for  peace  and  prayer,  without  taking  either  side,  was  surely  a  voice 
from  heaven. 

The  committee  appointed  by  the  convention  to  issue  a  paper 
from  Lebanon  resolved  to  delay  this  publication  until  the  meeting 
of  the  General  Assembly,  and  to  refer  the  whole  matter  to  that 
body,  but  this  wise  decision  of  that  committee  was  robbed  of  some 
of  its  peaceable  fruits  by  the  course  of  Smith's  paper.  In  October, 
1839,  the  Rev.  George  Donnell  wrote  a  private  letter  to  the  Rev. 
John  W.  Ogden,  who  was  corresponding  editor  of  Smith's  paper, 

'  It  is  said  that  Rev.  Joel  Knight  was  the  mover  of  these  resolutions. 


Chapter  XXIII.]  ThE   ChURCH   PaPER.  237 

correcting  the  rumors  which  even  then  were  afloat  that  the  Lebanon 
committee  had  declined  publishing  a  paper.  This  letter,  with  no 
dates  affixed,  was  kept  standing  in  the  editorial  columns  of  Smith's 
paper  until  the  Assembly  met,  in  May,  1840. 

I  have  not  felt  at  liberty  to  quote  Smith's  private  letters,  but 
have  used  them  in  investigating  questions  about  which  the  other 
authorities  are  in  conflict,  especially  when  the  evidence  of  these 
letters  is  on  the  side  of  the  convention.  These  private  letters  shed 
much  light  on  various  editorials  about  "The  Union  College,"  and 
other  cognate  subjects  which  appeared  in  the  paper  while  it  was 
published  at  Springfield,  Tennessee.  Their  contents,  moreover,  are 
a  complete  vindication  of  the  people  of  Lebanon  from  some  of  the 
charges  which  the  friends  at  Princeton  made  at  the  time  the  ' '  re- 
moval" of  the  college  took  place.  While  Mr.  Smith  had  all  the 
time  ably  advocated  an  educated  ministry,  he  seemed  to  have  a 
deep-seated  dislike  to  Cumberland  College.  His  bargain  with  the 
General  Assembly,  in  1833,  taxed  him  ten  cents  on  each  subscrib- 
er, for  the  benefit  of  that  institution ;  and  although  John  Bamett, 
after  his  lease  began,  voluntarily  released  the  paper  from  all  tribute 
to  the  college,  yet  there  was  a  sting  left.  Editorials  in  the  paper 
declared  the  college  to  be  of  little  or  no  benefit  to  the  church.  Mr. 
Smith  visited  Lebanon,  Tennessee,  in  1839,  for  the  purpose  of  in- 
ducing the  people  of  that  place  to  establish  a  church  college.  The 
account  of  his  conference  with  R.  L.  Caruthers,  under  Smith's  own 
signature,  is  in  my  possession.  Caruthers  took  just  the  ground 
which  his  known  loyalty  to  the  church  would  have  led  us  to  ex- 
pect. He  thought  the  college  at  Princeton  a  doomed  enterprise; 
but  so  long  as  it  continued  to  be  the  college  of  the  church,  he  would 
do  nothing  in  conflict  with  the  General  Assembly's  plan.  Smith's 
account  of  that  conference  is  dated  September  10,  1839.  At  Spring- 
field his  persuasions  proved  more  effective  than  at  Lebanon.  Here 
he  not  only  found  men  to  set  his  paper  going  once  more,  but  he  se- 
cured subscriptions  amounting  to  six  thousand  dollars  for  a  church 
college.  Through  his  influence  the  school  and  buildings  then  in 
use  in  that  town  were  transferred  to  this  new  '  *  college. ' '  He  urged 
the  presbyteries  to  send  their  candidates  for  the  ministry  to  Spring- 
field, promising  every  presbytery  fifty  dollars  on  each  two  hun- 


238  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  in. 

dred  subscribers  for  the  paper,  the  money  to  be  paid  in  tuition  at 
Springfield.  He  afterward  made  extensive  tours  among  the  south- 
ern churches,  raising  money  to  endow  his  college.  He  always 
speaks  of  it  as  "my  college."  He  says,  in  one  letter,  that  he  se- 
cured several  thousand  dollars  from  the  Cumberland  Presbyterians 
of  Mississippi  for  his  school.  He  never  raised  a  farthing  for  Cum- 
berland College. 

Smith  was  ubiquitous.  He  traveled,  he  wrote  letters,  he  de- 
livered lectures,  and  in  all  places  he  struggled  to  stir  up  the  church 
against  the  convention  and  its  proposed  paper.  He  visited  the 
presbyteries  at  their  spring  meetings  in  1840,  calling  attention  to 
his  sufferings  and  arousing  sympathy.  Some  presbyteries  which 
had  shown  strong  aversion  to  him  and  his  course  as  editor  turned 
over  under  his  vigorous  speeches,  and  passed  resolutions  indorsing 
him  and  his  paper,  and  denouncing  the  convention.  It  was  evident 
to  all  true  friends  of  the  church  that  there  was  danger  ahead.  Smith 
had  an  army  of  old  camp-meeting  friends;  for  his  camp-meeting 
preaching  had  been,  from  the  first,  his  most  powerful  work.  But 
there  was  another  army,  made  up  of  sufferers  from  his  financial 
recklessness,  who  said  that  every  enterprise  of  the  church  which 
had  ever  been  touched  by  him  had  either  been  injured  or  ruined  by 
the  contact. 

There  were  still  alarming  symptoms  of  approaching  schism, 
when,  in  March,  1840,  the  Rev.  F.  R.  Cossitt,  President  of  Cum- 
berland College,  commenced  issuing  a  monthly  pamphlet,  which 
he  called  The  Banner  of  Peace.  He  made  no  charges  for  this  pe- 
riodical, but  sent  it,  at  his  own  expense,  throughout  the  church. 
He  declared  his  aim  to  be  the  peace  and  unity  of  the  church.  He 
said  that  this  monthly  would  be  published  until  the  meeting  of  the 
General  Assembly  as  a  free  magazine,  but  if  continued  longer  a 
subscription  fee  would  be  charged.  His  editorials  were  powerful 
appeals  to  all  parties  for  peace.  He  showed  no  leaning,  in  his 
paper,  to  either  party;  but  he  published  an  article  for  Smith  which 
declared  the  church  to  be  in  its  death  agonies. 

True  friends  of  the  church  rallied  to  the  support  of  Cossitt' s 
views,  and  many  a  noble  plea  for  peace  appeared  in  the  columns  of 
the  Banner  of  Peace.     To  F.  R.  Cossitt,  more  than  to  any  other 


Chapter  XXIIL]  ThE   ChURCH   PaPER.  239 

human  agency,  does  the  church  owe  its  escape  from  wreck  in  the 
General  Assembly  of  1840. 

When  that  Assembly  met  the  mind  of  the  majority  was  made 
up  to  leave  both  Smith's  paper  and  the  proposed  Lebanon  paper 
without  either  recognition  or  condemnation,  and  for  the  time 
being  to  have  no  church  organ,  but  to  settle  on  something  like  lib- 
eral terms  with  Smith,  and  to  be  forever  done  with  him.  Smith 
claimed  large  things,  especially  on  account  of  his  losses  arising 
from  the  failure  of  several  General  Assemblies  to  secure  the  prom- 
ised four  thousand  subscribers.  He  proposed  arbitration,  but  the 
General  Assembly  declared  this  unnecessary,  as  a  satisfactory  set- 
tlement seemed  practicable  without  it.  A  committee  was  appoint- 
ed to  investigate  the  matter.  This  committee  reported  that  a  pa- 
tient inquiry  into  all  the  facts  had  satisfied  them  that  the  General 
Assembly  did  not  owe  Mr.  Smith  any  thing;  but,  as  he  made  a  large 
claim,  and  as  some  of  the  members  of  the  church  believed  his  claim 
to  be  just,  they  recommended  that  nineteen  hundred  dollars  be  paid 
to  him  as  damages. 

The  recommendation  was  adopted.  The  nineteen  hundred  dol- 
lars were  paid  before  the  Assembly  adjourned,  and  Smith's  receipt 
was  spread  on  the  Minutes. 

After  this  Smith's  course  was  a  strange  medley.  While  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly  maintained  control  of  the  college  at  Princeton,  Smith 
wrote  the  most  abusive  private  letters  against  that  institution  and 
all  connected  with  it.  But  when  the  Assembly  abandoned  that 
school,  and  Smith  was  forced  also  to  abandon  his  college,  then  he 
became  a  very  earnest  partisan  of  the  college  at  Princeton  and 
against  the  college  at  Lebanon.  All  through  his  editorial  career 
he  had  been  an  advocate  of  a  church  organ,  to  be  owned  and  con- 
trolled by  the  General  Assembly.  When  the  Assembly  failed  to 
continue  him  as  editor,  he  at  once  suspended  the  publication  of 
his  paper,  and  warmly  denounced  the  policy  he  had  defended 
before,  declaring  that  the  church  should  not  own  or  manage  either 
college  or  newspaper.  This  he  did  through  the  columns  of  Mil- 
ton Bird's  paper.  There  were  two  weekly  newspapers  now  pub- 
lished— one  by  Dr.  Cossitt,  and  one  by  Milton  Bird.  Bird  was 
then  a  young  man.      Smith,  it  is  said,  did  his  utmost  to  array 


240  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  iii. 

Bird's  paper  against  Cossitt,  and  against  the  college  at  Lebanon. 
In  this  way  alone  is  it  possible  to  account  for  some  of  Mr.  Bird's 
editorials,  they  are  so  unlike  all  that  noble  man's  record  before  and 
afterward.  Smith  had  been  stated  clerk  of  the  General  Assembly 
but  he  did  not  deliver  the  records  over  to  his  successor  till  three 
years  after  his  resignation,  though  he  was  twice  ordered  to  do  so. 
He  came  very  near  involving  Milton  Bird  in  a  serious  difficulty  by 
inducing  him  to  make  a  proposition  to  publish  these  old  records, 
and  sell  them  as  private  property.  Not  friendship  to  Bird,  but 
schism  in  the  church  was  thought  to  be  his  aim.  Once  he  talked 
of  forming  a  church  of  his  own. '  He  tried  to  enlist  various  par- 
ties, but  could  not  secure  the  followers  that  were  necessary  for 
such  a  scheme.  Then  he  struggled  to  persuade  many  of  our  best 
men  to  go  with  him  into  the  Presbyterian  church;  but  his  only 
success  was  in  the  case  of  John  W.  Ogden. 

The  evils  growing  out  of  the  lack  of  proper  compensation  to 
ministers,  of  which  Smith  so  bitterly  complained,  had  already 
driven  out  of  the  church  several  strong  men.  Among  these  the 
strongest,  perhaps,  was  the  Rev.  W.  A.  Scott,  D.  D, ,  who  recently 
died  in  San  Francisco.  Mr.  Ford,  of  Louisiana,  who  also  left  the 
church  about  the  time  Scott  did,  was  influenced  by  purely  doctrinal 
considerations,  so  he  declared  in  a  letter  to  Dr.  Beard.  Smith  was 
very  confident  that  he  would  take  Dr.  Beard  with  him.  He  told 
various  persons  that  Dr.  Beard  was  going  to  leave  the  church. 
Beard  wrote  to  Smith  calling  him  to  task  for  these  reports.  Smith 
defended  his  statements  as  a  prophecy  based  on  the  nature  of  the 
case.  He  said  to  Beard:  "You  will  be  obliged  to  go;  they  will 
drive  you  out  as  they  are  driving  me. ' ' 

It  was  once  generally  believed  among  Cumberland  Presbyte- 
rians that  W.  A.  Scott  tried  to  induce  Dr.  Beard  to  leave  the 
church.  There  was  not  a  particle  of  foundation  for  this  belief. 
All  Dr.  Scott's  letters  to  Dr.  Beard  have  been  examined,  and  there 
is  not  the  remotest  hint  at  any  such  thing.  While  there  were 
tempting  offers  made  to  Dr.  Beard,  most  of  them  originated  with 
Smith. 

» Proofs  of  all  this  are  among  many  of  the  literary  remains  in  my  hands,  espe- 
cially those  of  the  Rev.  Isaac  Shook. 


Rev.  F,  R.Cossitt  □,  D 


TXs/liyJCBunre.NY. 


Rev.  am.  Bryan.  D.D. 


Rev.  Milton  Bip,.d.  D.  D. 


Chapter  XXIII.]  ThE   ChURCH   PAPER.  24I 

The  impression  was  long  current  among  our  people  that  system- 
atic and  unlawful  means  were  resorted  to  to  entice  our  educated 
men  to  join  the  Presbyterian  church.  Careful  examination  of 
private  diaries,  correspondence,  and  other  records,  reveal  no  trace 
of  any  such  efforts.  Had  the  facts  been  as  our  people  once  thought 
they  were,  the  evidence  would  inevitably  exist  in  some  of  the  doc- 
uments now  in  my  hands.  The  main  motive  for  withdrawing 
from  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  church  and  joining  the  Pres- 
byterians is  correctly  stated  in  a  letter  to  Dr.  Beard,  written  by 
one  who  had  taken  this  step.  He  says :  ' '  There  is  no  hope  of 
my  ever  getting  a  living  as  a  pastor  in  the  Cumberland  Presby- 
terian church.  Between  being  secularized  and  false  to  my  min- 
isterial vows,  and  adopting  the  Westminster  Confession  with  such 
mental  reservations  as  I  know  to  be  made  by  many  of  the  Pres- 
byterian ministry,  I  chose  the  latter  as  the  far  lesser  evil." 
16 


242  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  in. 


CHAPTER   XXIV. 


THE  TRANSITION   FROM    MISSIONARY   EVANGELISTS 
TO    PAID   PASTORS. 

A  library  imitated  in  -wood. 

—  Vuict. 

THE  learned  Erasmus  declared  that  no  king's  office  is  equal  in 
dignity  to  the  office  of  the  humblest  pastor.  In  a  heathen 
country,  under  peculiar  circumstances,  it  was  all  right  for  Paul  to 
work  with  his  own  hands  to  earn  his  own  bread,  and  preach  with- 
out any  pay.  Likewise  the  state  of  things  in  the  new  settlements 
to  which  the  self-denying  missionaries  went,  made  it  absolutely 
necessary  for  them,  at  first,  to  earn  their  own  bread  by  some  secular 
pursuit.  It  is  not  to  be  wondered  at,  therefore,  that  there  should 
have  grown  up  in  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  church,  all  of 
whose  preachers  were  at  first  missionaries,  loose  views  about  the 
pastor's  office  and  pastors'  salaries.  Indeed,  many  of  our  preachers 
and  people  came  to  think  that  pastorates  were  invented  by  self- 
seeking  men  who  dreaded  the  hardships  of  an  itinerant  life  and 
wanted  big  salaries.  An  element  of  positive  opposition  to  the 
office  of  settled  pastor,  in  the  true  Presbyterian  sense  of  that  word, 
sprang  up.  There  was,  along  with  this,  a  disposition  to  apply  the 
name  pastor  to  any  minister  who  had  regular  appointments,  how- 
ever rare,  to  preach  in  any  one  congregation. 

When  the  second  Cumberland  Presbyterian  General  Assembly 
met,  1830,  this  opposition  to  the  pastoral  office  had  reached  its 
zenith.  That  General  Assembly,  by  a  large  majority,  voted  to 
submit  to  the  presbyteries  the  question  of  striking  out  of  the  Form 
of  Government  the  whole  section  recognizing  the  pastoral  office.' 


■It  may  be  Avell  to  note  that  the  chapters  and  sections  Avere  then  numbered 
differently  from  their  later  form.  The  numbering  was  changed  by  the  Rev.  James 
Smith,  publisher  of  the  book. 


Chapter  XXIV.]  TRANSITION   TO   PASTORATES.  243 

The  General  Assembly  not  only  submitted  this  question  but  de- 
clared the  change  desirable. 

There  were  then  only  eighteen  presbyteries:  of  these,  only  two 
voted  for  striking  out  that  chapter.  Thirteen  voted  no.  Three 
made  no  report — perhaps  did  not  meet — as  there  were  often  failures 
to  secure  a  quorum  in  the  new  presbyteries.  The  effort  was  never 
renewed,  but  year  after  year  the  feeling  grew  in  the  General  Assem- 
blies that  the  regular  pastoral  office,  in  its  true  sense,  would  have 
to  be  established.  In  1835  a  faint  utterance  in  favor  of  settled 
pastors  was  given  by  the  General  Assembly.  In  1836  an  unequiv- 
ocal declaration  of  the  importance  of  the  pastoral  office  was  placed 
on  record. 

The  first  battle  was  won;  but  let  it  not  be  supposed  that  all 
opposition  to  the  pastor's  office  had  disappeared.  I  give  one  exam- 
ple: At  the  meeting  of  the  West  Tennessee  Synod  in  1849  ^^^ 
Committee  on  the  State  of  Religion  brought  in  a  report  which 
contained  a  paragraph  about  the  deplorable  lack  of  settled  pastors. 
This  report  was  met  with  the  most  uncompromising  opposition. 
Earnest  and  eloquent  speeches  were  made  against  it  by  some  of  the 
oldest  ministers  present.  The  chairman  of  this  committee  and  the 
Rev.  Samuel  Dennis,  D.  D, ,  then  pastor  of  the  Cumberland  Presby- 
terian church  in  Memphis,  were  the  only  men  who  stood  up  in 
that  meeting  in  favor  of  the  regular  pastoral  office.  Yet,  in  that 
synod,  the  largest  in  the  church,  there  was  not  at  that  time  any 
genuine  evangelist,  and  not  as  many  as  a  half  dozen  men  devoted 
exclusively  to  the  work  of  the  ministry.  A  system  of  supplies,  on 
Sabbaths,  by  preachers  who  through  the  week  earned  their  bread 
in  secular  callings,  was  depended  on  in  that  synod,  and  is,  alas,  the 
system  by  which  many  of  our  churches  are  still  kept  up. 

Very  few  of  the  early  Cumberland  Presbyterian  ministers  had 
any  correct  idea  of  the  true  nature  of- the  pastor's  office.  When 
the  necessity  for  real  pastorates  was  urged,  many  seemed  to  think 
that  installation  was  all  that  they  lacked.  The  people  soon  under- 
stood, however,  that  he  who  served  them  under  the  name  of  a 
pastor,  was  in  fact  but  a  secularized  supply  who  preached  on  the 
Sabbath  and  then  went  back  to  his  worldly  pursuits.  In  many 
cases  these  preachers  rode  eight  or  ten  miles  on  Sabbath  morning 


244  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.      [Period  iii. 

to  their  appointments,  and  rode  back  Sabbath  evening.  Thus  an 
utter  lack  of  any  correct  knowledge  of  what  a  true  pastor  is,  was  a 
serious  difficulty  in  the  way  of  introducing  true  pastors. 

Even  now  the  truth  is  but  slowly  dawning  upon  our  people  that 
pastor  and  evangelist  belong  to  two  very  different  vocations;  so 
different,  indeed,  that  fitness  for  one  is  presumptive  evidence  of  un- 
fitness for  the  other.  The  standards  by  which  the  churches  have 
usually  judged  of  a  man's  fitness  for  the  pastor's  work,  or  of  his 
success  when  in  that  work,  are  standards  which  belong  rather  to 
the  other  vocation,  that  of  the  evangelist.  To  preach  thrilling, 
popular  sermons,  to  attract  a  great  crowd,  to  gather  in  many 
wealthy  members,  to  build  a  fine  meeting-house — such  things  as 
these  have  been  regarded  the  ne  plus  ultra  of  pastoral  success. 
There  may  be  no  systematic  beneficence  in  the  congregation,  no 
entire  personal  consecration  to  Christ's  service  in  the  daily  practi- 
cal life  of  any  member;  the  missionar}^  spirit  may  be  wanting  in 
both  pastor  and  people;  no  child  of  the  church  may  ever  go  to 
labor  among  the  heathen  or  enter  the  holy  ministr}-;  family  prayers 
may  be  neglected  in  the  households,  and  the  members  be  untaught 
in  the  great  fundamental  truths  of  Christianity;  there  may  be  as 
little  separation  from  the  ways  of  a  godless  world  as  the  devil  him- 
self could  wish — still  if  the  attractive  sermons  draw  great  crowds 
and  a  handsome  salary  is  paid,  the  man  who  occupies  the  pulpit  is 
regarded  by  many  as  a  successful  pastor.  Ah  !  the  great  day  will 
reverse  many  a  human  verdict. 

The  long-established  custom  of  looking  upon  thrilling  popular 
sermons  as  the  sole  test  of  a  pastor's  fitness  has  built  up  a  stubborn 
barrier  against  right  measures.  Let  a  man  who  knowTS  what  real 
pastoral  work  is  studiously  avoid  all  sensational  discourses  and  all 
mere  spasms,  and  set  himself  to  work  earnestly  to  organize,  drill, 
train,  and  indoctrinate  his  flock  in  real,  personal  consecration  to 
Christ;  let  him  strive  to  cultivate  love  to  Jesus  by  enlisting  every 
member  of  the  flock  in  a  thorough  study  of  the  Bible  and  in  active 
efforts  to  do  good  and  win  souls,  and  in  a  large  majority  of  cases, 
the  church  will  rebel.  That  is  not  what  they  want;  they  want  to 
be  thrilled  with  eloquence  on  the  Sabbath  and  left  to  themselves 
through  the  week. 


Chapter  XXIV.]  TRANSITION   TO   PASTORATES.  245 

That  the  pastor's  office  is  the  most  difficult  and  important  of  all 
human  callings  can  be  easily  proved.  It  is  a  calling  from  God,  yet 
those  who  engage  in  it  need  special  training,  more  careful  than 
that  required  in  any  secular  employment  or  profession.  But  when 
the  transition  from  circuit  preaching  to  settled  pastorates  became  a 
necessity,  there  were  in  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  church  no 
men  trained  to  the  pastoral  office.  Our  people  had  no  school  to 
teach  the  theory  of  pastoral  theology;  no  experienced  pastors  to 
lead  and  train  the  rising  ministry,  and  there  were  no  churches 
willing  to  sustain  a  pastor  decently.  It  is  a  wonder,  under  all  the 
circumstances,  that  the  preachers  of  that  period  succeeded  as  well 
as  they  did. 

Men  who  know  nothing  about  a  difficult  calling  generally 
underestimate  the  labor  required  to  master  it.  Many  of  the 
preachers  failed  to  understand  the  difficulty  and  importance  of 
pastoral  work.  A  leading  minister,  one  of  the  most  beloved  and 
successful  pioneer  missionaries  in  the  church,  declared  in  a  public 
discourse  that  the  whole  science  of  pastoral  theology  could  be 
mastered  in  two  hours!  Even  yet  few  among  us  know  what  care- 
ful and  extensive  preparation  is  needed  for  the  pastor's  work. 
Discussing  the  extreme  difficulty  of  a  true  pastorate  the  learned 
Bengel  said:  "Many  things  are  needed  in  order  to  create  a  true 
community."  The  care  of  individual  souls  is  like  preparing  the 
individual  stones  for  a  temple.  To  create  a  true  spiritual  commu- 
nity—  the  temple  in  its  finished  state  —  is  a  life  work.  It  is  never 
done  by  any  one  great  revival  or  under  frequent  change  of  pastors. 
As  well  talk  of  one  painter  beginning  a  painting  and  a  whole 
"apostolical  succession  "  of  other  painters  carr}-ing  out  the  original 
design.  A  true  pastor,  by  a  whole  life-time  of  toil,  may  accomplish 
the  work,  but  even  then  the  inner  fountain  of  power  must  be  the 
Lord  of  glory  himself  dwelling  in  the  pastor.  When  one  such 
spiritual  community  is  secured  the  results  are  abiding. 

The  pastors  in  this  transition  period  had  to  unteach  some 
wrong  lessons  which  the  church  had  learned.  The  silence  of  the 
pioneer  preachers  about  money  had  created  a  strong  opposition  to 
paying  preachers.  This  existed  not  only  among  the  covetous  and 
the  worldly,   but  among  people  who  had  considerable  reputation 


246  CUMBERI.AND  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  in. 

for  piety.  Indeed,  congregations  which  were  celebrated  for  dem- 
onstrations of  religious  fervor  were  often  the  very  ones  which  gave 
tlie  least  money. 

All  the  first  Cumberland  Presbyterian  preachers  started  wrong. 
Bitterly  did  our  old  men  regret  their  failure  to  teach  and  train  the 
people  in  this  duty,  but  their  regrets  came  too  late.  It  will  take 
several  generations  yet  to  get  rid  of  the  leaven  of  their  example. 
In  the  midst  of  the  great  congregation  at  Big  Spring,  Tliomas 
Calhoun,  near  the  close  of  his  life,  used  substantially  these  words: 
"I  am  now  old,  and  must  soon  go  to  meet  my  Judge.  I  have  been 
one  of  the  actors  in  establishing  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian 
church,  and  in  all  that  pertains  to  its  early  history.  I  have  a  clear 
conscience  save  only  about  one  thing.  We  have  all  failed  to  do 
our  duty  in  training  the  people  to  pay  their  preachers.  I  have 
lived  to  see  the  ruinous  consequences  of  that  failure,  and  I  don't 
want  to  die  without  confessing  my  sin  in  this  matter  in  the  most 
public  manner  possible."  So  too,  did  Ewing  and  others  make 
public  confession,  but  it  came  too  late.     The  evil  continues. 

In  several  instances  synods  sent  men  to  preach  on  this  subject 
throughout  their  bounds,  the  order  in  one  case  extending  to  a  whole 
State.  One  can  not,  however,  help  doubting  whether  any  man  of 
the  class  and  type  to  which  the  first  Cumberland  Presb}-terian 
preachers  belonged,  would  be  likely  to  accomplish  much  in  such  a 
mission.  That  whole  generation  of  preachers  had  false  views  on 
this  subject.  "Supporting  the  gospel"  was  the  text;  a  pitiful  hat 
collection,  which  furnished  the  ministers  who  held  the  meeting 
from  one  to  three  dollars  apiece  for  a  week's  labor,  was  the  appli- 
cation. The  men  who  gave  the  money  were,  in  their  self-compla- 
cent views,  "supporting  the  gospel."  Many  of  the  efforts  of  the 
presbyteries  to  remedy  the  difficulty  were  as  pitiful  as  these  hat 
collections.  One  presbytery^  resolved  that  every  member  of  the 
church  ought  to  give  twenty-five  cents  a  year  to  "the  support  of 
the  gospel;"  another,  that  all  church  members  should  give  fifty 
cents  apiece  annually  for  this  purpose,  and  another  had  the  daring 
to  ask  every  member  of  its  congregation  to  pay  a  dollar  a  year  to 
secure  the  means  of  grace.     In  one  of  the  oldest  and  richest  por- 

I  have  all  these  presbyterial  records  before  me. 


Cliapter  XXIV.]   '        TRANSITION   TO   PASTORATES.  247 

tions  of  tlie  cliurcli,  a  presbytery  named  ten  dollars  per  annum  as 
the  amount  which  each  of  its  congregations  ought  to  try  to  pay 
its  "pastor." 

Now  place  by  the  side  of  these  "heavy  burdens"  which  the 
presbyteries  were  laying  upon  the  churches,  the  burdens  which 
these  preachers  were  themselves  patiently  bearing.  From  a  num- 
ber of  examples  recorded  in  the  church  paper,  one  is  selected.  In 
the  spring  of  1832,  when  a  minister  of  good  talents  was  ordained, 
he  volunteered  to  go  as  a  missionary  to  a  new  State.  He  had  fifteen 
hundred  dollars  in  money  and  no  family.  He  went  on  his  mission 
without  any  provision  for  compensation.  He  traveled  and  built 
up  several  small  churches,  paying  his  own  way,  until  all  his  money 
was  gone.  He  had  said  nothing  about  compensation,  though  the 
people  he  preached  to  were  generally  getting  rich;  but  the  time 
now  came  when  he  could  no  longer  pay  his  own  way  and  travel  as 
a  missionary.  He  went  into  secular  business,  and  continued  to 
preach  on  Sabbath  without  one  cent  of  pay.  The  church  paper 
commenting  on  this  case  and  others  like  it,  calls  them  cases  of 
necessity.  But  did  not  the  neglect  of  duty  have  something  to  do 
with  creating  this  necessity  ?  The  ministers  of  that  day  were  too 
sensitive  and  timid  about  preaching  on  the  duty  of  giving.  What 
they  did  say  often  made  matters  worse. 

At  a  later  day  there  were  a  few  men  in  the  church  who  knew 
how  to  present  this  subject.  Dr.  A.  J.  Baird  was  one  of  these. 
There  was  a  church  in  one  of  the  wealthiest  portions  of  Middle 
Tennessee  whose  pastor  had  resigned  because  his  salary  could  not 
be  raised.  Dr.  Baird  visited  this  church  with  a  view  of  bringing 
it  up  to  its  duty  in  this  matter.  He  first  conferred  with  the  session 
and  learned  that  the  difficulty  was  not  about  the  man,  but  only 
about  the  salary.  The  people  could  not  raise  enough  money  to 
support  that  man  or  any  other,  and  had  decided  to  dismiss  the 
pastor  and  depend  on  monthly  supplies  from  some  non-resident 
minister.  Baird  plead  and  argued,  but  the  session  finally  told  him 
that  he  would  not  even  be  permitted  to  canvass  the  congregation 
for  subscriptions.  All  this  was  on  Saturday.  On  Sabbath  Dr. 
Baird  preached,  discussing  the  whole  subject  in  that  practical  and 
common-sense  way  of  which  he  was  a  master.     At  the  close  of  the 


248  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  11 1. 

sermon  lie  described  his  interview  with  the  session.  Then  he 
added,  "I  am  not  going  to  ask  either  this  session  or  these  church 
members  to  give  one  cent;,  but  I  am  going  to  raise  the  pastor's 
salary  here  to-day  among  the  unconverted  people.  These  sinners 
have  a  higher  appreciation  of  the  blessings  which  stand  forever 
connected  with  the  regular  means  of  grace  than  this  session  has. 
I  want  some  of  these  rich  old  sinners  to  start  the  subscription. 
Who  will  pledge  a  sum  bearing  some  little  proportion  to  the 
inestimable  worth  of  the  gospel?"  In  less  than  a  half  hour  the 
whole  salary  was  raised,  and  that  without  the  name  of  a  single 
church  member.  Dr.  Baird  then  delivered  a  scathing  lecture  to 
that  session,  and  proceeded  to  install  the  preacher  as  pastor  for 
those  sinners. 

Dr.  Baird  was  often  called  to  present  this  subject,  but  in  no  two 
cases  did  he  use  the  same  methods.  Once  at  Lebanon,  Tennessee, 
where  the  congregation  had  generally  maintained  a  standard  of 
liberality  above  the  average,  they  fell  sadly  behind  in  the  pastor's 
salary,  and  sent  for  Dr.  Baird  to  help  them.  He  came  and  met  the 
congregation,  making  just  a  little  talk  in  which  were  only  three 
points.  In  the  first  he  assumed  that  the  people  of  Lebanon  would 
not  consent  to  be  left  destitute  of  the  means  of  grace.  In  the 
second  he  discussed,  very  briefly,  one  way  of  supplying  this 
acknowledged  necessity — the  old  scriptural  way  of  having  one 
man  exclusively  devoted  to  that  work  and  paying  him  for  his 
labors,  as  we  pay  lawyers,  doctors,  and  others.  Thirdly,  he  stated 
that  this  scriptural  method  had  been  tried  in  Lebanon,  and  had 
broken  down,  and  he  had  been  sent  for  to  help  devise  wa}-s  and 
means  to  meet  the  emergency.  He  said,  "  Sometimes  when  peo- 
ple want  a  new  meeting-house,  and  can  not  raise  money  enough 
to  hire  a  carpenter,  they  divide  out  the  work  among  the  members 
and  do  it  themselves.  Inasmuch  as  we  can  not  raise  money  enough 
here  to  have  one  man  do  all  the  preaching  and  pay  him  for  it,  w^e 
shall  have  to  divide  out  the  work  among  the  members  and  not  try 
to  have  any  pastor.  I  have  made,"  said  he,  "the  best  distribution 
of  the  labor  I  can,  and  will  now  proceed  to  read  the  appointments. 
'Squire  McClain,  you  will  preach  next  Sunday  morning  and  Sun- 
day night."     "No  I  won't,"  said  the 'Squire.     "No  dodging," 


Chapter  XXIV.J  TRANSITION   TO   PASTORATES.  249 

answered  Baird,  "there  will  be  some  rare  head-scratcliiiig  in 
'Squire  McClain's  office  the  next  few  days.  It  is  not  quite  as  easy 
as  it  looks  to  prepare  two  sermons  in  one  week."  "I  am  not 
going-  to  prepare  any  sermons,"  said  McClain,  "What  will  you 
do  then?  Are  you  going  to  do  without  the  gospel?"  "No,"  he 
answered,  ' '  I  am  going  to  pay  my  full  share  of  the  salary  and  have 
a  pastor  to  do  my  part  of  the  preaching."  The  pastor  was  re- 
tained, but  we  are  not  told  whether  he  was  adequately  paid  or  not. 

To  go  forward  and  preach  the  gospel,  pay  or  no  pay,  is  certainly 
right.  In  that,  the  example  of  our  fathers  is  worthy  of  all  com- 
mendation. But  there  is  also  another  line  of  duty.  To  be  silent 
about  money,  to  say  nothing  about  consecration  to  God  in  pocket 
as  well  as  profession,  to  leave  unrebuked  a  habitual  course  of  con- 
duct which  robs  God  and  robs  his  own  called  ministers  who  stand 
before  the  church  in  his  name  and  by  his  authority  as  his  own 
ambassadors — this  is  a  criminal  neglect  of  part  of  the  very  work 
committed  to  those  ambassadors.  It  is  useless  to  try  to  conceal 
the  fact  that  our  fathers  were  sadly  delinquent  in  this  part  of  their 
duty.  This  is  a  blot  on  the  record  of  their  heroism  and  their 
spirituality  which  we  can  not  wash  off.  The  heroism  and  spirit- 
uality are  with  the  dead  past.  Old  established  communities,  crys- 
tallized into  a  life  devoted  mainly  to  worldly  things,  is  what  we  have 
now.  This  silence  on  the  subject  of  money  which  was  persisted  in 
by  the  first  Cumberland  Presbyterian  preachers  even  while  actual 
want  pressed  upon  some  of  them  and  their  families,  and  the  gen- 
eral secularization  of  the  ministry  which  followed  it,  suited  well 
the  carnal  hearts  of  nominal  church  members  who  gloried  in  a 
"free  gospel."  As  a  consequence,  it  is  hard  now  to  find  any 
church  which  is  willing  to  pay  a  pastor  a  living  salary.  Our 
churches  have  been  trained  to  take  a  preacher's  labor  without  pay. 

Grave  as  was  the  fault  of  the  ministry',  a  far  more  grievous 
complaint  is  recorded  in  heaven  against  the  churches.  With  some 
honorable  exceptions,  they  stand  charged  before  God  with  robbing 
their  own  pastors,  and  that,  too,  where  there  is  no  chance  to  plead 
any  lack  of  plain  teaching  from  the  pulpit  as  an  apology  for  the 
robbery,  nor  any  lack  of  ability  on  the  part  of  the  robbers.  A 
painful  array  of  historical  facts  might  be  here  presented,  but  to 


250  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  iii. 

publish  the  details,  with  the  names  of  the  preachers  and  of  the 
churches  which  took  their  services  without  pay  would,  perhaps, 
give  offense  and  not  cure  the  evil.  An  old  preacher,  in  extreme 
poverty,  and  utterly  helpless  in  body,  says  "I  spent  forty  years 
giving  my  whole  time  to  such  and  such  churches."  The  list  is 
omitted.  "In  no  one  of  these  churches"  he  continues,  "did  I 
ever  receive  more  than  half  the  salary  which  they  promised  to  pay 
me.  If  I  had  these  unpaid  balances,  I  would  now  be  in  eas)'  circum- 
stances." This  man  was  an  able  preacher  in  his  day,  and  there 
were  many  conversions  under  his  ministry.  The  position  taken 
here  is  indorsed  by  the  authority  of  one  of  the  noblest  servants 
and  truest  friends  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  church  ever  had. 
In  Dr.  Beard's  diary  for  September  18,  1855,  is  the  following  entr}'-: 
"Went  to  Brother  Mansfield's;  found  him  in  his  field  at  work. 
He  is  a  good  and  useful  preacher,  and  yet  is  laboring  on  a  farm  to 
support  his  wife  and  children.  Will  not  the  church  have  to  render 
a  fearful  account  for  her  treatment  of  such  men  ?  " 

The  reports  of  several  hundreds  of  circuit  riders  show  that 
about  one  third  of  them  received  no  pay  at  all.  Perhaps  another 
third  received  some  socks,  and  from  five  to  twenty  dollars  a  year  in 
money.  The  largest  salary  reported  by  any  one  of  them  was 
eighty  dollars  a  year.  Only  one  reports  so  large  a  sum.  The 
compensation  of  the  first  "pastors"  in  the  church  was  still  more 
meager.  It  was  not  expected  that  men  who  did  not  travel  would 
be  paid  any  thing  for  preaching.  It  was  said  that  the  church  to 
which  a  leading  minister  devoted  the  best  years  of  his  life  did 
not,  during  the  whole  time,  pay  him  as  much  as  twenty  dollars. 
But  we  are  improving;  people  and  preachers  are  improving.  Per- 
haps when  all  the  formidable  obstacles  which  had  to  be  o\-ercome 
are  taken  into  the  account,  the  improvement  ought  to  be  con- 
sidered remarkable.  One  of  the  largest  and  most  central  presby- 
teries may  perhaps  be  taken  as  an  average  sample  of  what  the 
whole  church  is  now  doing.  It  has  forty  ministers.  Three  of 
these  are  entirely  supported  by  their  congregations.  Two  otliers, 
whether  supported  or  not,  give  their  whole  time  to  the  work  of  the 
ministrv.  Six  others  are  devoted  to  church  work  under  some  of 
the  boards,  and  twenty-eight  are  secularized,  though  they  preach 


Chapter  XXIV.]  TRANSITION   TO   PASTORATES.  25I 

on  Sabbath  and  get  some  little  compensation.  Now  that  circuit 
riding  is  no  more,  and  camp-meetings  are  generally  abandoned,  our 
churches  must  employ  regular  pastors  or  cease  to  exist.  The  chief 
hope  of  the  church  is  with  the  young  men  who  take  a  regular 
course  of  theological  studies  and  enter  the  pastoral  work.  Every 
true  pastor  is  a  light-house  ^mong  the  churches.  The  work  of 
many  such  in  town  and  country  stands  as  the  strongest  argument 
in  favor  of  permanent  pastorates. 

The  sermon  which  this  chapter  preaches  needs  to  be  followed 
by  an  exhortation.  The  credit  system,  pledges  forfeited  by  church 
judicatures  for  future  payment  of  money,  the  failure  to  pay  sub- 
scriptions and  even  notes  given  to  church  enterprises,  the  injustice 
and  robbery  of  neglecting  to  support  pastors  and  evangelists,  or  of 
refusing  to  pay  the  meager  salaries  promised  them,  are  all  forms 
of  financial  mismanagement  and  wrong -doing.  From  just  such 
things  as  these  the  greatest  dangers  and  losses  of  the  church  have 
come  in  the  past.  It  will  be  well  if  such  causes  of  trouble  are 
avoided  in  the  future. 

Not  only  to  Barnett  and  Smith  did  the  General  Assembly  make 
pledges  which  it  had  no  power  to  fulfill,  but  there  were  other  simi- 
lar cases.  The  particulars  of  one  such  instance  are  found  in  the 
manuscript  autobiography  of  the  Rev.  R.  D.  King.  When  the 
General  Assembly  of  1834  asked  the  Rev.  Samuel  King  and  his 
son  to  go  on  their  long  evangelistic  tour  among  the  churches,  it 
included  in  the  request  a  solemn  pledge  that  the  evangelists  should 
be  compensated  for  their  services.  R,  D.  King  took  his  wife  to 
the  home  of  her  relatives  in  Kentucky,  where  she  and  her  children 
remained  during  the  twenty  months  of  her  husband's  absence. 
When  these  evangelists  made  their  final  report  to  the  General 
Assembly,  they  stated  that  their  compensation  had  been  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  dollars  less  than  their  unavoidable  traveling  expenses. 
One  member  then  arose  in  the  Assembly  and  moved  that  steps  be 
taken  to  redeem  the  pledge  for  compensation  made  to  these  evan- 
gelists. Another  member  made  a  speech  against  the  motion,  de- 
claring that  neither  he  nor  the  Assembly  then  sitting  had  ever 
made  any  such  pledges.  "This  Assembly,"  said  he,  ''is  not  the 
same  body  which  pledged  compensation,  and  we  are  not  bound 


252  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       Lferiod  in. 

either  morally  or  legally."  The  matter  dropped  there.  There 
being  no  second  to  the  motion,  no  vote  was  taken.  When  the 
clerk  read  in  the  Minutes  the  words,  "compensation  nearly  equal  to 
their  traveling  expenses,"  Samuel  King  objected.  But  being 
appealed  to  to  let  this  record  stand  "for  the  sake  of  the  church," 
he  withdrew  his  objection.  R.  D.  King  had  to  borrow  money  to 
remove  his  family  back  to  his  little  home  in  Tennessee.  On  his 
arrival  he  found  that  his  note  for  the  borrowed  money  had  preceded 
him  and  was  in  the  hands  of  an  officer.  His  property  was  sold 
under  the  sheriff's  hammer.  He  says  that  for  a  considerable  time 
after  that  his  purpose  remained  fixed  to  preach  no  more  for  Cum- 
berland Presbyterians.  In  that  state  of  mind  his  communion  with 
God  was  cut  oif.  Heart-searching  followed,  and  the  conclusion 
was  reached  that  his  preaching  was  for  Jesus  and  not  for  any  de- 
nomination, and  he  girded  on  his  armor  once  more.  There  have 
been  many  other  cases  like  R.  D.  King's,  belonging  to  all  the 
periods  down  to  the  present  day. 

There  are  scriptural  methods  of  transacting  financial  affairs,  but 
the  credit  system  forms  no  part  of  these  methods.  Church  debts 
are  unscriptural,  and  whether  they  be  contracted  by  congregations 
or  church  judicatures,  or  chartered  boards,  they  are  always  a  curse. 
A  chapter  might  be  devoted  to  the  history  of  such  debts.  It  would 
tell  of  college  buildings  which  have  been  sold  to  meet  the  claims 
of  creditors;  of  houses  of  worship  mortgaged,  and  at  last  forfeited; 
of  pastors  disappointed  and  crushed;  of  good  men  alienated  from 
the  church  because  its  pledges  were  not  redeemed;  of  donations 
from  the  wealthy  turned  away  from  our  institutions  by  disaffection 
and  want  of  confidence  caused  by  financial  failures.  The  materials 
for  such  a  chapter  are  at  hand.  Among  other  things  is  the  record 
of  a  consecrated  pastor,  an  able  and  holy  man,  who  in  his  last 
illness,  only  a  few  years  ago,  was  kept  from  starving,  not  by  his 
congregation  v/hich  still  owed  him  large  balances  on  his  salarj', 
but  by  unconverted  men  whom  God  sent,  like  the  prophet's  ravens, 
to  feed  his  servant.  But  let  these  sad  records  of  failure  and  wrong 
rest  in  oblivion  till  the  great  day  of  reckoning  shall  bring  them 
to  light. 


Chanter  XXV.]  MISSISSIPPI   AND   LOUISIANA  253 


CHAPTER  XXV. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  MISSISSIPPI  AND  LOUISIANA 

Thy  mighty  river  jet  shall  know 
A  gracious  stream  of  grander  flow. 

— Anonymous. 

IN  tlie  chapter  on  Bell's  Indian  mission,  notice  was  taken  of  the 
first  work  of  Cumberland  Presbyterians  in  the  territory  which 
now  forms  the  State  of  Mississippi.  That  work  was  exclusively 
among  the  Indians,  who  throughout  that  period  occupied  the 
northern  portion  of  Mississippi.  The  condition  of  things  south 
of  the  Indian  country  presented  few  attractions  for  Cumberland 
Presbyterian  preachers.  The  settlers  did  not  come  from  the  field 
occupied  by  this  new  church;  they  sent  no  pressing  calls  for  its 
missionaries,  while  far  more  such  calls  than  the  presbyteries  could 
possibly  respond  to  came  from  other  fields.  The  Tombigbee  Pres- 
bytery, organized  in  1823,  included  Bell's  mission,  but  there  were 
then  in  Mississippi  no  congregations  of  white  people  belonging  to 
this  church. 

White  people,  and  some  of  them  Cumberland  Presbyterians, 
had  penetrated  the  Indian  country,  and  were  making  their  homes 
there,  the  treaty  of  1816  having  opened  the  door  for  such  settle- 
ments. Robert  Bell,  John  C.  Smith,  and  James  Stewart,  all  con- 
nected with  the  Indian  mission  —  Stewart  only  a  short  time — 
preached  to  these  pioneers.  But  the  whites  who  settled  in  the 
Indian  country  were,  with  some  noble  exceptions,  people  of  bad 
character,  and  their  influence  was  a  serious  barrier  to  the  success 
of  the  gospel  among  the  Indians.  One  of  these  white  men  was  a 
slave  trader  from  Princeton,  Kentucky,  who  circulated  slanderous 
reports  about  a  mission  which  the  American  Board  had  established 
in  Mississippi.  This  negro  trader,  on  his  purchasing  tours,  fre- 
quently visited  Kentucky,  and  spread  his  slanders  against  the 
missionaries  wherever  he  went.     These  missionaries   held   anti- 


254  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  iii. 

slavery  views,  and  were  sadly  in  his  way.  F.  R.  Cossitt  and  David 
Lowry,  knowing  the  vileness  of  this  man's  character,  publicly 
denounced  his  slanders,  and  warned  the  people  of  Kentucky 
against  him.  They  also  wrote  to  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian 
missionaries,  begging  them  to  furnish  the  means  of  vindicating 
their  brethren  in  the  Monroe  mission.  This  Mr.  Bell  did  in  such 
a  thorough  manner  that  the  neighboring  mission  was  not  again 
assailed.  This  generous  interference  against  a  dangerous  ruffian 
in  behalf  of  a  mission  planted  by  another  board  illustrates  the 
magnanimous  spirit  of  the  Cumberland  Presbyterians  of  that  day. 

One  of  the  men  who  settled  in  Monroe  County,  Mississippi, 
long  before  the  Indians  moved  away,  was  Colonel  John  S.  Topp, 
an  elder  in  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  church.  Among  the 
anecdotes  told  by  him  is  one  connected  with  the  final  removal  of 
the  Indians  from  this  territory'.  Various  pretexts  for  delay  had  for 
years  retarded  this  promised  removal.  Finally,  all  things  were 
supposed  to  be  ready,  but  still  the  Indians  failed  to  assemble  for 
their  journey.  The  agent  inquired,  "What  is  the  matter  now?" 
They  told  him  that  their  chief,  Tisho  Mingo,  was  in  prison  for 
debt.  This  was  strange,  for  Tisho  Mingo  had  been  rich.  It 
seems,  however,  that  he  had  been  robbed  while  preparing  to  move, 
and  could  not  pay  his  debts.  Colonel  Topp  suggested  to  the  agent 
that  the  old  chief  should  take  the  insolvent  debtor's  oath.  This 
was  done,  and  Tisho  Mingo  released.  The  Indians,  who  stood 
around  when  the  oath  was  administered  and  their  chief  released, 
exclaimed  in  wonder:  "Talk  a  little  on  the  book,  talk  a  little  off 
the  book,  and  Indian's  debts  paid."  This  was  the  last  obstacle 
of  any  serious  character  to  their  removal. 

The  agent  who  removed  the  last  company  of  the  Chickasaws 
completed  his  task  in  the  spring  of  1839.  Only  a  few  wealthy 
families  of  this  tribe  remained  till  a  later  period.  The  Choctaw 
country  was  opened  in  1833.  The  sudden  opening  to  settlers^  of 
all  the  vast  cotton  lands  vacated  by  the  Indians,  synchronizing 
with  that  wonderful  inflation  of  the  currency,  together  with  the 
fabulous  stories  of  vast  fortunes  to  be  accumulated  in  IMississippi, 
caused  an  immense  rush  to  that  territory.  It  was  said,  and  per- 
haps with  some  truth,  that  a  man  without  one  cent  of  capital  could 


Chapter  XXV.]  MISSISSIPPI   AND   LOUISIANA.  355 

go  there,  buy  land  on  a  credit,  and  negroes  with  borrowed  money, 
and  make  enough  on  his  cotton  to  meet  every  payment.  Specula- 
tion ran  wild.  Many  preachers  of  different  churches  went  to  Mis- 
sissippi under  its  promptings.  Others  who  went  there  to  preach 
were  told  by  older  settlers  to  seize  the  golden  opportunity  to  make 
themselves  independent  first.  "We  will  loan  you  money.  Get  you 
a  plantation  and  hands  to  cultivate  it;  get  them  paid  for;  and  then 
you  can  go  and  preach  as  much  as  }'ou  please."  One  preacher 
writes  in  the  church  paper  that  he  was  told  that  Mississippians 
would  not  listen  with  any  respect  to  a  preacher  who  let  ' '  this 
golden  opportunity  for  independence  slip,  and  then  expected  the 
people  to  support  him."  Thus  it  came  about  that  most  of  the 
preachers  of  all  the  churches  were  secularized.  The  statement 
was  published  at  that  time  that  nine  out  of  every  ten  ministers  in 
Mississippi  were  secularized.  From  a  long  series  of  letters  in  the 
church  paper  on  the  condition  of  things  in  Mississippi  between 
1832  and  1834,  we  learn  that  the  capital  of  the  State  for  fifteen 
years  had  neither  church -house  nor  school  -  house.  Ten  whole 
counties  in  the  poorer  regions  east  of  Pearl  River  had  only  one 
preacher  who  could  read  and  write.  The  richest  county  in  the 
State  had  neither  bookstores,  academies,  nor  pastors.  According 
to  this  writer,  people  going  to  Mississippi  caught  the  mania  for 
speculation,  and  lost  all  concern  about  books,  schools,  churches,  or 
any  thing  else.  He  wrote  over  a  fictitious  signature,  and  his  state- 
ments are  perhaps  exaggerated. 

Other  writers,  who  do  not  use  fictitious  names  however,  o-ive  a 
sufficiently  dark  picture  of  the  wild  spirit  of  speculation  which 
prevailed  for  five  or  six  years  after  the  Choctaw  country  was  opened. 
The  Clinton  Presbytery  (Presbyterian)  sent  forth  a  strong  protest 
against  this  state  of  things;  and  inasmuch  as  it  had  previously 
given  official  indorsement  to  the  zeal  and  consecration  of  the  few 
Cumberland  Presbyterian  preachers  in  that  field,  it  now  published 
through  our  church  paper  an  earnest  protest  against  the  course 
which  some  preachers  of  our  church  in  Mississippi  were  then 
taking. 

In  the  diary  of  the  Rev.  Isaac  Shook  is  an  account  of  a  visit 
to  a  Mississippi  town  in  1834.     There  were  seven  hundred  inhab- 


256  CUMBERI.AND  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  iii. 

itants,  and  among  them  five  Protestant  ministers  all  secularized. 
One  was  a  merchant,  one  a  school-teacher,  one  a  lawyer,  and  two 
"slave  drivers,"  as  Shook  calls  them.  They  were  "seizing  the 
golden  opportunity  to  secure  independence."  Shook  began  a 
series  of  meetings.  By  and  by  the  school-teacher  began  to  attend. 
There  was  a  revival.  Then  the  merchant,  who  also  sold  whisky, 
came  of  nights,  and  grew  wonderfully  zealous,  but  he  still  sold 
whisky.  The  others  would  drop  in  occasionally,  but  took  no 
special  interest.  The  meeting  closed.  One  of  these  preachers 
afterward  was  silenced;  all  of  them  utterly  lost  the  confidence  of 
the  people.  The  town  became  noted  for  its  contempt  of  Chris- 
tianity. 

In  1836  the  church  paper  stated  that  all  the  Cumberland  Pres- 
byterian congregations  in  Mississippi  had  been  organized  in  the 
preceding  five  years.  At  the  meeting  of  Columbia  Synod,  in  the 
town  of  Pulaski,  Tennessee,  on  the  fourth  day  of  November,  1831, 
the  order  was  passed  for  the  formation  of  Mississippi  Presbytery. 
Its  limits  on  the  south-west  were  indefinite;  on  the  south  it  ex- 
tended to  Mobile.  Its  original  members  were  to  be  Thomas  J. 
Bryan,  Robert  Molloy,  Samuel  W.  Sparks,  and  Isaac  Shook;  and 
its  first  meeting  was  to  be  held  in  the  town  of  Gallatin,  Copia 
County,  Mississippi,  the  fourth  Thursday  in  April,  1832,  Thomas 
J.  Br>'an  to  be  its  first  moderator. '  Different  statements  as  to  who 
were  the  original  members  of  this  presbyterj-  have  been  published, 
but  this  is  the  correct  list  as  ordered  by  the  synod.  These  var\'ing 
accounts  are  thus  explained:  Several  ministers  from  different  syn- 
ods were  living  in  Mississippi,  but  not  enough  from  any  one  to 
form  a  presbytery.  The  Rev.  S.  W.  Sparks  and  the  Rev.  Isaac 
Shook,  both  of  Columbia  Synod,  volunteered  to  go  at  their  own 
expense  to  Mississippi  and  co-operate  with  Molloy  and  Bryan — who 
also  belonged  to  that  synod,  but  lived  in  Mississippi— in  the  forma- 
tion of  a  presbyter}^  As  soon  as  the  presbytery  was  organized  it 
received  as  members  the  other  resident  ministers,  and  then  Shook 
and  Sparks  returned. 

In  going  to  Mississippi  they  had  traveled  on  horseback  to 
Memphis,  thence  by  boat  to  Vicksburg,  and  thence  on  horseback 

'See  records  of  Columbia  Synod,  in  the  church  paper.  November  17,  1831. 


Chapter  XXV.]  MISSISSIPPI   AND   LOUISIANA.  257 

to  Gallatin.  They  expected  to  return  by  the  same  routQ,  but  God, 
in  his  providence,  had  other  plans  for  Shook.  He  was  induced  to 
visit  some  old  friends  in  Mississippi  and  hold  meetings  for  them. 
He  afterward  made  arrangements  to  go  all  the  way  back  to  Hunts- 
ville,  Alabama,  by  stage.  Saturday,  May  19,  1832,  Mr.  Shook 
was  traveling  homeward  in  the  stage.  He  would  not  travel  on  the 
Sabbath,  and  his  only  alternative  was  to  spend  two  days  at  the 
hotel  in  a  strange  town,  which  had  the  reputation  of  being  a  very 
wicked  place.  Stages  passed  only  on  alternate  days,  and  hotel  bills 
in  Mississippi  were  very  high.  Late  Saturday  night  Shook  put 
up  at  the  Columbus  hotel.  Sunday  morning  he  found  the  hotel 
keeper  to  be  an  old  acquaintance  and  a  special  friend.  Through 
him  an  arrangement  was  made  for  Shook  to  preach  that  day  in 
the  Baptist  church.  Shook  says  that  he  preached  with  the  feeling 
that  he  would  never  see  his  congregation  again  till  the  great  judg- 
ment-day, and  he  prayed  God  to  enable  him  to  be  faithful.  Early 
Monday  morning  he  was  waited  on  by  the  pastor  and  one  elder  of 
the  Presbyterian  church  who  urged  him  very  earnestly  to  remain 
till  the  next  Sabbath,  when  their  communion  meeting  was  to 
begin.  He  hesitated,  but  said  he  would  give  them  an  answer  be- 
fore stage  time.  In  the  course  of  the  day,  he  found  that  his  sermon 
the  day  before  had  awakened  several  sinners.  He  resolved  to  re- 
main. Mr.  Byington,  of  the  Choctaw  mission,  came  and  assisted 
in  the  meeting.  At  the  close  of  Shock's  first  sermon,  he  "called 
for  mourners,"  and  two  ladies,  who  were  leaders  in  society,  came 
forward.  At  the  close  of  his  second  sermon,  the  school-mistress 
and  nearly  all  her  school  came  for\\^ard.  The  interest  spread  to 
the  country,  where  it  seemed  to  be  greater  than  in  town.  It  was 
finally  decided  to  hold  meetings  at  different  points  all  around 
Columbus.  On,  till  the  first  of  August,  over  two  months,  Shook 
continued  preaching  every  day.  In  Columbus  and  the  surround- 
ing countr>',  three  hundred  persons  claimed  to  be  converted  at 
these  meetings.  Of  these,  Shook  took  twenty  into  the  Cumber- 
land Presbyterian  church.  He  says  he  encouraged  no  one  to  join 
the  Cumberland  Presbyterians  because  he  saw  no  prospects  of  any 
reliable  supply  of  the  preached  gospel  from  our  ministers.  He 
even  apologizes  for  receivmg  the  twenty,  but  says  they  would  not 
17 


258  CUMBERI.AND   PRESBYTERIAN   HISTORY.         [Period  III. 

agree  to  belong  to  any  other  church,  and  were  willing  to  put  up 
with  sermons  by  occasional  circuit  riders.  The  Rev.  Samuel 
Nelson  rode  that  circuit  and  supplied  this  little  flock  with  the  gos- 
pel for  a  few  years.  In  1839  this  little  church  at  Columbus  called 
Mr.  Shook  as  their  pastor  at  a  salary  of  ^800.  He  ser\'ed  them 
faithfully  for  many  years.  The  war  came  near  destroying  this  and 
many  other  Southern  congregations,  but  in  spite  of  the  war  and 
of  other  hindrances,  this  faithful  band  still  perseveres  in  the  work. 

A  member  of  the  Mississippi  Presbyter>',  rather  short  of  funds, 
rode  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  to  attend  one  of  the  early  meet- 
ings of  that  body.  He  found  the  members  all  quartered  at  the 
town  hotel,  each  paying  $3  a  day  for  himself  and  horse.  There 
was  no  meeting-house  in  the  town,  but  the  forest  was  near  b}',  and 
the  presbytery  convened  under  the  trees.  The  clerk  wrote  on  his 
hat  crown.  The  largest  Cumberland  Presbyterian  congregation  in 
the  State  in  1836  numbered  only  twenty-eight  members.  Small 
as  was  this  beginning  our  membership  in  that  State  at  a  later  day 
was  among  the  foremost  in  the  whole  church  in  every  good  work. 
This  IS  especially  true  in  reference  to  the  payment  of  pastors' 
salaries.  In  all  the  important  financial  enterprises  of  the  church 
from  1840  to  i860,  Mississippi  and  Alabama  took  a  leading  part. 
They  were  favorite  fields  for  agents  appointed  in  any  part  of  the 
church  to  raise  money.  Before  the  war  the  contributions  of 
Alabamians  and  Mississippians  to  the  endowment  of  the  colleges  of 
the  church  far  exceeded  those  made  by  the  people  of  any  other  two 
States.  Notwithstanding  the  losses  caused  by  the  war,  Mississippi 
still  stands  among  the  foremost  States  in  supporting  all  church 
enterprises. 

In  1832  the  Mississippi  Synod  was  organized.  Its  presbyteries 
were  the  Mississippi,  the  Alabama,  and  the  Eh'ton.  This  synod 
extended  its  jurisdiction  into  Louisiana  and  over  all  Texas.  By  it 
Louisiana  Presbyter}^  was  organized  in  1835,  and  Texas  Presbytery 
in  1837— (ordered  in  1836).  Three  new  presbyteries  created  by 
Mississippi  Synod  were  soon  dissolved.  These  were  named  Colum- 
bus, Charity  Hall,  and  Shiloh.  Two  other  presbyteries  were 
organized  in  this  State  during  this  period,  which  still  exist — Ox- 
ford and   New   Hope.      The  efficiency  and   energy  of  the   New 


Chapter  XXV.]  MISSISSIPPI   AND   LOUISIANA.  259 

• 

Hope  Presbytery,  its  admirable  organization,  and  the  consecration 
of  its  preachers  and  people,  deserve  special  commendation. 

In  1832  the  Rev.  H.  H.  Hill  traveled  in  Alabama  and  Missis- 
sippi, holding  meetings.  His  work  was  greatly  blessed.  The 
Rev.  R.  L.  Ross  was  a  convert  of  these  meetings,  as  were  his 
father  and  nearly  all  the  family.  In  1834  the  Rev.  W.  S.  Bumey 
was  engaged  in  holding  camp-meetings  in  Mississippi.  He  was 
assisted  by  the  Rev.  A.  P.  Bradley,  and  their  work  was  abundantly 
successful.  Jefferson  Brown,  Joseph  Harrison,  and  Cyrus  Wilson 
all  labored  in  this  field  about  this  time.  Wilson  was  afterward  a 
candidate  for  governor  of  Arkansas,  but  was  defeated.  Elam 
Waddell,  Jabez  Hickman,  and  F.  M.  Fincher  came  next.  In  1838 
the  Rev.  Richard  Beard  took  charge  of  the  Sharon  Academy  in 
Mississippi,  and  his  influence  and  labors  were  a  great  help  to  the 
church  in  that  State.  James  Mitchell,  Andrew  Herron,  J.  B. 
Jopling,  Wayman  Adair,  and  John  P.  Campbell,  all  preached  in 
Mississippi  during  this  period.  Of  all  this  list,  only  a  very  small 
number  were  free  from  secular  pursuits.  The  New  Hope  Pres- 
bytery (1838)  was  united  with  the  Columbus  Presbytery  in  1840, 
and  then  had  among  its  members,  Wayman  Adair,  Thomas  Tabb, 
Joe  Bell,  James  W.  Dickey,  W.  C.  Ross,  F.  E.  Harris,  Isaac 
Shook,  and  some  others.  Perhaps  W.  C.  Ross  is  the  only  one  of 
the  list  who  still  lingers  on  earth.' 

The  Rev.  R.  L.  Ross  entered  the  ministry  in  Mississippi  soon 
after  his  conversion  in  1832.  He  has  always  been  a  liberal  helper 
in  church  work.  By  good  management  and  rigid  economy  he  has 
been  enabled  to  give  more  money  to  our  church  enterprises  than 
any  other  preacher  in  the  denomination.  He  has  often  aided  Cum- 
berland University,  in  some  cases  "just  in  the  nick  of  time," 
when  his  contributions  saved  the  institution  from  disaster.  There 
are  some  touching  incidents  of  his  early  work  in  the  ministry,  one 
of  which  deserves  to  be  recorded  here.  There  was  in  Mississippi  a 
neighborhood  made  up  of  Scotch  emigrants,  and  Mr.  Ross  became 
very  much  attached  to  them  and  married  one  of  their  daughters. 
They  were  all  Presbyterians,  and  had  brought  their  Scotch 
pastor  along  with  them.     This  pastor,  whose  name  was  McDonald, 

'The  united  presbj'tery  was  called  New  Hope. 


26o  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  in. 

was  an  earnest  Christian  but  very  much  afraid  of  "disorderly" 
revivals,  and  especially  afraid  of  Cumberland  Presbyterian  revivals. 
Still  he  became  attached  to  Ross,  and  finally  consented  to  have 
Ross  and  Leftwich,  both  Cumberland  Presbyterian  preachers,  hold 
a  camp-meeting  for  him.  It  was  not  long  before  the  Scotch  pastor 
was  startled  by  loud  shouting  from  some  of  his  "orderly"  mem- 
bers. Throngs  of  penitents  were  at  the  "mourner's  bench,"  and 
the  conversion  of  some  of  them  made  parents  and  relatives  forget 
all  about  "order."  The  pastor,  along  with  the  elders,  looked  on 
with  great  displeasure.  One  of  these  elders  was  named  McKee. 
The  pastor  soon  discovered,  to  his  great  disgust,  that  McKee's  little 
daughter,  only  eleven  years  old,  was  one  of  the  mourners.  He 
advised  the  father  to  take  her  away,  saying  the\'  Avould  ' '  frighten 
her  to  death."  The  father  acted  on  the  advice  immediately.  She 
was  taken  to  a  tent  and  put  under  medical  treatment.  She  was 
given  a  camphor  bath,  then  a  strong  toddy  was  administered,  and 
she  was  put  to  bed.  The  pastor  and  elders  then  decided  to  put  a 
stop  to  such  a  disorderly  meeting,  and  so  announced  to  Ross. 
The  latter,  believing  the  pastor  to  be  a  sincere  Christian,  asked 
him  first  to  go  alone  to  the  forest  and  spend  a  season  of  earnest 
prayer  for  divine  guidance.  The  old  Scotchman  was  a  believer  in 
divine  guidance,  and  he  took  Mr.  Ross'  advice.  When  he  returned 
his  mind  was  made  up  to  let  the  meeting  go  on  one  more  daj'  and 
see  what  the  results  would  be.  In  his  prayer  he  said  he  had  asked 
God  if  there  was  any  good  in  such  meetings  to  let  him  see  con- 
vincing proof  of  it  that  day.  That  night  a  curious  spectacle  was 
presented.  The  Scotch  parents,  with  their  children  seated  by 
them,  all  occupied  the  outside  seats  as  far  away  from  the  pulpit  as 
possible.  They  had  all  given  orders  to  their  children  not  to  go  to 
the  mourner's  bench.  Ross  preached  with  great  power,  and  then 
"called  mourners."  The  pastor  stood  leaning  on  the  pulpit. 
Mourners  came  in  great  numbers,  among  them  the  pastor's  son, 
thirty  years  old.  His  two  married  daughters  also  came.  Mr.  Ross 
then  went  to  the  pastor's  wife  and  insisted  that  she  should  go 
to  her  children  who  were  seeking  salvation  and  give  them  instruc- 
tions. She  went  and  commenced  talking  to  her  daughter  about 
''waiting  the  Lord's  own  time."     But  just  as  the  mother  began 


Chapter  XXV.]  MISSISSIPPI   AND   LOUISIANA.  26l 

her  instructions  the  daughter  rose  shouting.  Her  face  shone  with 
heavenly  light,  and  the  mother  then  and  there  acknowledged  that 
the  work  was  from  God.  She  went  and  knelt  by  her  son,  and 
began  a  silent  prayer  for  him.  Her  prayer  soon  grew  audible. 
Then  it  was  poured  forth  with  all  the  ardor  of  a  Methodist.  The 
son  was  soon  rejoicing.  Then  another  son;  and  then  the  mother 
was  on  her  feet  preaching  Jesus  and  crs'ing  "glory  to  God."  By 
this  time  every  doubt  vanished  from  the  pastor's  heart,  and  mount- 
ing a  chair  he  gave  a  thrilling  exhortation  to  all  sinners  to  come  at 
once  to  the  arms  of  the  Redeemer.  He  told  them  all  that  he  was 
now  fully  convinced  that  this  was  God's  work,  and  that  resistance 
to  it  was  resistance  to  God's  Spirit.  All  barriers  were  now  swept 
away  and  many  were  gathered  into  the  fold.  Several  of  the  con- 
verts joined  the  Cumberland  Presbyterians.  The  Rev.  J.  F. 
McDonald,  of  our  church,  is  a  descendant  of  this  old  Scotch 
pastor.  It  is  gratifying  also  to  know  that  "the  little  girl  who  was 
dragged  away  from  the  mourner's  bench  was,  in  after  years,  con- 
verted.    She  became  the  Rev.  R.  L.  Ross'  second  wife. 

The  Cumberland  Presbyterian  church  was  never  strong  in 
Louisiana.  At  a  camp-meeting  held  by  Rainey  Mercer  and  Robert 
Molloy,  near  Springfield,  on  Lake  Pontchartrain,  in  St.  Helena 
Parish,  October,  183 1,  the  first  congregation  of  our  people  in  that 
State  was  organized.  Here,  as  ever^^where  else,  the  pioneers 
formed  a  temperance  society  when  they  organized  a  church.  The 
next  account  we  have  of  the  work  of  Cumberland  Presbyterians  in 
that  State  is  from  John  W.  Ogden,  March,  1832.  He  had  organ- 
ized a  church  at  Opelousas,  with  forty  members;  and  another  at 
Alexandria.  Each  of  these  congregations  began  at  once  to  build 
a  suitable  house  of  worship.  Ogden  also  reported  great  revivals  at 
his  meetings  throughout  his  circuit,  especially  in  Bayou  Cotile 
and  Bayou  Rapide.  In  1835  the  Rev.  Samuel  King  and  his  son, 
R.  D.  King,  rendered  some  valuable  assistance  to  the  church  in 
Louisiana.  W.  A.  Scott,  then  a  licensed  preacher,  was  also  in 
that  field.  So,  too,  was  the  Rev.  Thomas  B.  Reynolds,  and  prob- 
ably Wiley  Burgess.  The  Louisiana  Presbytery  was  organized 
March  13,  1835.  Its  original  members  were  John  W.  Ogden, 
Rainey  Mercer,  and  Thomas  B.  Reynolds.     At  this  first  meeting 


262  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.      [Period  in. 

it  ordained  W.  A.  Scott,  P.  M.  Griffin,  and  Sumner  Bacon.'  This 
presbytery  has  had  a  hard  struggle.  It  has  been  dissolved  and 
again  revived.  Of  its  ministers  Scott,  Ogden,  and  Ford  left  the 
church.  Still,  in  spite  of  these  discouragements  and  losses,  it 
maintains  its  organic  life  and  its  preachers  and  congregations  are 
accomplishing  good  work  for  the  Master.     They  deserve  help. 

'  Minutes  of  Louisiana  Presbytery^  in  Revivalist,  Vol.  i.,  No.  31. 


Chapter  XXVI.]  ThE   ChURCH   IN   TeXAS.  263 


CHAPTER   XXVI. 


PLANTING  THE   CHURCH    IN   TEXAS— 1S28  TO    1842. 

The  Holy  Ghost  said,  Separate  me  Barnabas  and  Saul  for  the  work  whereunto  I 
have  called  them. — Ac/s  xt'ti.  2. 

WHILE  Texas  was  a  part  of  the  constitutional  and  federal 
Republic  of  Mexico,  various  colonies  of  people  from  the 
United  States  settled  in  that  province.  Most  of  these  colonies 
obtained  large  grants  of  land  from  the  Mexican  government.  In 
1834  it  was  said  that  sixty  thousand  of  these  colonists  were  living 
on  Texas  soil.  Though  all  these  Anglo-Saxons  were  from  a  Prot- 
estant country,  yet  they  lived  under  laws  which  forbade  all  public 
Protestant  worship.  There  was  at  first  no  Protestant  preacher  in 
all  the  province. 

In  1826  Sumner  Bacon,  an  unprepossessing  son  of  Massachu- 
setts, living  then  in  Arkansas,  presented  himself  to  Arkansas  Pres- 
bytery of  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  church  as  a  candidate  for 
the  ministry.  He  was  dressed  in  buckskin  clothing.  His  man- 
ners were  rough,  like  his  dress.  He  gave  a  very  unusual  account 
of  what  he  considered  his  call  to  the  ministry.  He  said  he  was 
only  called  to  one  special  work,  and  not  to  the  general  work  of 
the  ministry-.  He  was  called  to  go  to  Texas,  where  there  were  no 
Protestant  preachers.  On  account  of  the  strange  appearance  and 
strange  call  of  this  young  man,  the  presbytery  declined  to  re- 
ceive him.  At  a  subsequent  meeting  of  the  same  presbytery  he 
presented  himself  again,  and  was  again  rejected'  How  blind  we 
all  are!  God  had  specially  trained  up  a  man  of  his  own  choosing 
for  a  special  work  which  no  ordinary  man  could  do.  As  a  soldier 
in  camp,  then  as  a  surveyor  on  a  dangerous  frontier,  with  Yankee 
energy  and  Cumberland  Presbyterian  zeal,  this  rough  man  was 
furnished  for  his  wild,  hard,  dangerous,  but  exceedingly  important 

.^  History  given  by  the  Rev.  J.  A.  Cornw^all,  who  was  present. 


a64  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  iii. 

mission.  Because  he  was  rough,  wore  buckskin,  and  had  a  special 
call,  the  dear  brethren  of  Arkansas  rejected  him;  but  God  will  not 
be  thwarted  if  men  are  blind. 

At  the  same  time  that  Bacon  was  receiving  these  impressions,  a 
Cumberland  Presbyterian  lady  living  in  one  of  the  Anglo-Saxon 
colonies  in  western  Texas  was  daily  making  it  a  matter  of  special 
prayer  that  God  would  send  to  her  neighborhood  a  preacher  of  the 
everlasting  gospel.  Meantime  Bacon,  nothing  daunted  by  rebuffs, 
gathered  up  what  means  he  could  control,  and  in  1828  set  out  to 
perform  his  mission  to  Texas,  without  human  authority.  At  his 
own  expense  he  managed  to  secure  some  Bibles  and  tracts,  and 
began  his  work  as  an  independent  lay  evangelist  among  the  people 
of  western  Texas.  He  was  the  first  Protestant  who  ever  preached 
on  Texas  soil.  As  it  was  dangerous  for  people  to  open  to  him 
their  houses,  he  held  his  first  meetings  under  the  trees,  near  the 
house  of  that  praying  lady. 

But  Bacon  encountered  far  greater  danger  from  ruffians  than 
from  Mexican  laws.  If  there  had  been  any  very  great  rigor  in 
enforcing  those  laws  his  out-door  meetings  could  not  have  been 
held.  Only  a  small  part  of  the  population  were  Catholics.  The 
priests  were  generally  extremely  ignorant. 

Bacon  was  acquainted  with  a  regular  agent  of  the  American 
Bible  Society  in  Louisiana,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Chase,  and  often  obtained 
Bibles  from  him.  Chase  was  a  minister  in  the  Presbyterian  church, 
and  took  great  interest  in  Bacon.  The  question  of  lay  ordination 
had  been  pressed  upon  Bacon,  as  there  was  no  ordained  preacher 
of  any  Protestant  church  in  Texas.  His  friend,  Chase,  did  not 
favor  this  plan,  but  urged  him  to  wait  and  trust  God  to  open  up 
the  way  for  ordination  in  some  regular  channel.  In  1832  Mr. 
Chase  obtained  for  Bacon  a  commission  as  agent  for  the  American 
Bible  Society,  which  he  accepted  with  the  distinct  stipulation  that 
he  was  to  receive  no  salar}\ 

Sometime  in  1833  Bacon's  life,  which  had  often  been  endan- 
gered and  often  threatened,  was  nigh  being  taken  by  some  desper- 
adoes of  western  Texas.  There  are  some  variations  in  the  many 
different  accounts  of  this  adventure,  but  the  authority  here  fol- 
lowed is  the  church  paper,  whose  editor  compiled  his  statements 


Chapter  XXVI.]  ThE   ChURCH   IN   TexAS.  265 

from  correspondence  with  Bacon  at  the  time/  Bacon  was  informed, 
before  starting  to  an  appointment  to  preach,  that  he  wonld  cer- 
tainly be  waylaid  and  killed  if  he  went  on  that  journey,  and  ear- 
nest efforts  were  made  to  dissuade  him  from  going.  Failing  in 
that,  the  man  who  warned  him  against  attempting  the  journey, 
and  who  some  say  was  a  Texas  ruffian  won  over  to  be  Bacon's 
friend,  armed  himself,  saddled  his  horse,  and  went  along  with  the 
preacher.  Passing  a  narrow  ravine,  in  which  it  was  necessary  to 
ride  single  file,  the  armed  friend  saw  two  men  rush  upon  Bacon 
and  knock  him  from  his  horse  at  a  single  blow.  His  companion 
fled,  and  reported  that  Bacon  was  killed.  It  seems,  however,  that 
he  was  not  dead.  The  assassins  dragged  him  into  the  thicket  for 
the  purpose  of  concealing  their  bloody  deed,  when  they  discovered 
that  their  victim  still  lived.  They  were  proceeding  to  complete 
the  work,  when  Bacon  asked  them  to  allow  him  a  few  minutes  for 
prayer.  This  was  granted.  The  man  of  God  knelt  and  poured 
forth  a  most  earnest  prayer  for  his  murderers.  When  he  rose,  the 
assassins  were  in  tears,  and  declared  to  him  that  they  could  not  kill 
so  good  a  man. 

Sometime  afterward  Bacon  was  to  hold  a  camp-meeting.  His 
first  camp-meeting,^  and  the  first  ever  held  in  Texas,  was  in  Sabine 
County,  in  1833.  It  is  not  certain  whether  it  was  at  this  or  some 
other  camp-meeting  in  the  same  year  that  his  life  was  again  in 
jeopardy.  Ruffians  went  to  the  meeting  anned,  declaring  their 
purpose  to  kill  him.  On  the  appearance  of  these  desperadoes,  one 
of  the  men  who  had  been  prayed  for  in  the  former  attempt  on 
Bacon's  life,  rose  with  his  gun  in  his  hands,  and,  planting  himself 
in  front  of  the  preacher,  told  the  people  that  he  was  there  to  defend 
Bacon.  He  stood  guard  while  the  minister  delivered  his  sermon, 
and  no  violence  was  attempted.  Amid  scenes  like  thest  ^'n^-  Cum- 
berland Presbyterian  church,  the  first  Protestant  church  of  Texas, 
was  planted. 

Bacon  kept  a  book  in  which  he  took  the  signatures  of  all  those 
who  claimed  to  be  Christians,  and  of  all  others  who  were  willing 


'See  Ctunberland  Presbyferian,  April  2:;,  1S3:;. 

^'A  Methodist  minister  aided  in  this  meeting.      See  Bacon's  own  letter  in  the 
Cumberland  Presbyterian,  October  33,  1833. 


266  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  in. 

to  enter  into  a  solemn  pledge  to  live  a  Christian  life.  As  yet,  he 
had  no  human  authority  to  preach,  nor  was  there  in  Mexico  an\- 
Protestant  church  court  to  give  such  authority,  Mr.  Bacon's 
work,  as  Bible  agent,  was  characteristic  of  pioneer  life.  He  had 
a  pack-horse  to  carry  liis  books,  and  bear  skins  to  cover  them  in 
rainy  weather.  His  chief  difficulty  was  in  crossing  the  water- 
courses. When  he  reached  a  deep  river  he  went  into  camp  and 
remained  till  he  could  construct  a  raft  which  would  bear  him  and 
his  books.  That  done,  he  swam  his  horses  over  beside  his  raft, 
and  went  on  his  way  again.  A  number  of  his  private  letters 
written  to  friends  "in  the  States"  show  that  he  made  earnest 
appeals  for  help.  In  these  letters  he  says  that  he  found  the 
Mexicans  destitute  of  the  Scriptures,  and  generally  eager  to  be 
supplied.  He  seemed  to  feel  no  fears  of  being  arrested  for  dis- 
tributing the  word  of  God,  and  always  spoke  in  terms  of  tender 
interest  about  the  immortal  souls  of  the  people  among  whom  he 
labored.  His  circuit  was  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  to  the  western 
border  of  Texas.  He  preached  and  scattered  Bibles  as  he  went. 
The  heavens  were  the  roof  over  his  head  at  night.  The  prairie 
grass  furnished  him  forage.  Indians,  Mexicans,  persecuting 
priests,  and  rigid  laws,  bloody  assassins,  and  wild  beasts,  were  all 
in  the  hands  of  his  God  who  sent  him  to  that  special  field. 

Arkansas  Presbytery  had  refused  to  recognize  his  special  call, 
but  the  Great  Head  of  the  church  raised  up  another  presbytery  to 
enjoy  the  honor  of  commissioning  him  to  preach.  In  1835  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Chase  wrote  to  Mr.  Bacon  that  a  Cumberland  Presb}- 
terian  Presbytery  was  to  be  organized  at  Alexandria,  Louisiana,  in 
March,  and  urged  him  to  attend.  Bacon  did  so.  Mr.  Chase  also 
attended  and  made  a  statement  to  the  presbyter>-  of  the  peculiar 
and  pressing  nature  of  the  case,  whereupon  the  presb}ter}-  received 
Bacon  as  a  candidate  for  the  ministry,  licensed,  and  ordained  him 
all  on  the  same  day. '  Mr.  Chase  preached  the  ordination  sermon. 
God  not  only  raised  up  the  man  of  his  own  choosing  for  this  work, 
but  he  raised  up  also,  in  the  bosom  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  a 
friend  to  stand  before  a  Cumberland  Presbyterian  judicature  and 

'Minutes  of  Louisiana  Presbvterv,  in  Cumberland  Presbyterian,  April  15,  1835, 
and  April  22,  1835;  also,  editorial  in  it. 


Chapter  XXVI.]  ThE   ChURCH   IN   TeXAS.  267 

plead  for  a  suspension  of  the  educational  rules  in  that  particular 
case.  It  was  with  some  difiSculty  that  Mr.  Chase  succeeded  in  this 
matter,  and  the  presbytery  spread  on  its  minutes  a  declaration  that 
this  case  was  not  to  be  a  precedent  in  the  future.     Ah,  God  rules! 

Before  Bacon's  ordination,  some  two  or  three  other  ministers 
of  other  churches  had  penetrated  the  wilds  of  Texas  and  lent  their 
aid  to  the  good  work.  They  and  Bacon  often  met  at  camp- 
meetings,  and  through  their  united  efforts  many  souls  were  brought 
to  a  knowledge  of  Jesus. 

Meantime,  other  features  in  the  plans  of  the  heavenly  Father 
were  slowly  brought  to  light.  The  usurpations  of  a  military 
despot  drove  the  Texans  into  revolt.  Men  from  the  States  rushed 
to  their  assistance,  and  among  these  was  iVndrew  Jackson  McGown, 
a  son  of  one  of  Andrew  Jackson's  old  colonels.  His  parents  were 
then  living  in  Texas,  and  though  he  was  a  probationer  for  the 
ministry,  going  to  school,  when  he  heard  the  cry  for  help  he  left 
school,  and  books,  and  native  land,  and  went  to  join  the  patriot 
Texan  army.  He  reached  Texas  in  the  darkest  period  of  the  rev- 
olution. Citizens  fleeing  in  wild  dismay  from  the  cruel  invader 
first  met  him;  next  the  retreating  army.  All  the  woe  and  alarm 
which  such  things  always  involve,  greeted  him.  Casting  in  his 
lot  with  the  army  he  gave  his  whole  heart  to  the  struggle.  The 
books,  the  songs,  the  histories,  and  the  oratory  of  Texas,  all 
dwell  fondly  on  the  name  of  A.  J.  McGown.  One  of  the  Texas 
poets  represents  it  as  the  loftiest  achievement  of  any  man  to  pass 
through  such  a  war  with  both  a  soldier's  heroism  and  a  Christian's 
integrity  unsullied  by  a  single  spot,  and  then  ascribes  this  high 
honor  to  McGown. 

His  service  with  the  patriots  of  Texas  was  in  the  providence  of 
God  a  means  of  fitting  him  for  his  special  work  afterward.  The 
fact  that  he  had  shared  in  the  dangers  and  triumphs  on  the  battle- 
fields of  1835  and  1836,  appealed,  as  nothing  else  could,  to  every 
Texan  patriot's  heart.  All  the  rest  of  his  days,  in  his  work  in  the 
ministry,  McGown  used  the  influence  thus  acquired  with  wonder- 
ful effect.  Many  a  time  he  visited  neighborhoods  where  mob 
violence  had  been  used  against  preachers,  but  an  appeal  to  his 
comrades  of  San  Jacinto  never  failed  to  call  forth  daring  friends 


268  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  iii. 

who  would  protect  him  from  all  attacks.  On  one  occasion,  in  a 
thrilling  appeal  to  his  army  comrades  while  "calling  mourners," 
he  saw  a  man  who  had  been  an  officer  in  his  regiment,  rising,  and 
as  he  advanced  saying,  "I'll  come,  Andy,  for  your  sake."  Mc- 
Gown  cried  out,  "Stoj),  stop,  not  for  my  sake,  but  for  your  poor 
soul's  sake,  and  for  Christ's  sake."  That  day  was  one  of  great 
victory  for  Christ  and  his  cause.  Not  even  the  historic  fields  of 
the  2ist  of  April,  1836,  can  compare  with  it.  The  books  of  earth 
keep  one  record,  the  archives  of  eternal  glory  keep  the  other. 

McGown  traveled  and  preached  with  as  much  zeal  and  energy 
as  he  had  manifested  in  the  struggle  for  Texan  independence, 
laboring  as  all  other  Cumberland  Presbyterian  preachers  on  the 
frontier  had  to  do,  without  any  pay.  On  one  occasion  he  came  to 
a  ferry,  but  had  no  money.  He  told  the  ferryman  that  he  had  a 
pair  of  new  socks  which  he  would  give  him  for  his  ferriage.  The 
offer  was  accepted,  and  the  preacher  went  on  his  way  rejoicing. 
On  another  occasion,  his  clothing  was  worn  and  threadbare.  The 
Rev.  S.  W,  Frazier,  who  was  traveling  with  him,  was  also  in  need 
of  clothing.  A  gambler,  who  saw  their  need,  went  into  a  store 
and  bought  a  suit  of  clothes  for  each  of  the  preachers.  Thus  they 
were  supplied. 

In  1836  McGown  and  Bacon  first  met.  Both  of  them  had  their 
hearts  earnestly  set  on  the  interests  of  Christ's  kingdom  in  the 
Republic  of  Texas,  for  the  Lone  Star  banner  then  floated  over  that 
field.  A  presbytery,  a  newspaper,  and  a  school  were  three  things 
which  they  agreed  to  work  for.  To  secure  the  first  they  attended 
the  meeting  of  Mississippi  Synod,  whose  jurisdiction  extended 
indefinitely  to  the  south  and  west.  At  their  request  this  synod 
authorized  any  three  ordained  ministers  of  the  Cumberland  Pres- 
byterian church  who  could  be  got  together  on  Texas  soil  to  organ- 
ize a  presbyter}'.  McGown  was  not  yet  ordained.  Next  year, 
November  27,  1837,  the  Rev.  Amos  Roark  of  Hatchie  Presbytery, 
and  the  Rev.  Mitchell  Smith  of  Talladega  Presbyter}^  met  at  the 
house  of  the  Rev.  Sumner  Bacon  of  Louisiana  Presbyter\',  and 
there  constituted  the  Texas  Presbytery.^  At  this  first  meeting 
R.  O.  Watkins  was  received  as  a  candidate  for  the  ministry.     The 

'  Minutes  published  in  Cumberland  Presbyterian,  February  20,  1S38. 


Chapter  XXVI.]  ThE   ChuRCH   IN   TexAS.  269 

organized  churches  of  our  people  then  in  the  Republic  were  but 
four  in  number.  One  was  in  eastern  Texas,  then  supposed  to  be 
in  Arkansas,  and  was  organized  by  Milton  Estill,  in  1833,  the  first 
in  the  State.  Another  was  in  Sabine  County,  where  the  first 
camp-meeting  was  held.  It  was  organized  by  Bacon,  in  1836.  A 
third  was  in  the  Watkins  neighborhood  (Nacogdoches)  and  was 
organized  in  1837.  With  war  still  raging,  with  only  three  ordained 
preachers,  and  four  chnrches,  the  first  presbytery  had  a  dark  pros- 
pect before  it.  It  however  adopted  brave  and  decided  measures. 
It  resolved  to  establish  a  school  and  a  religious  paper,  and  seek  help 
from  the  church  in  the  United  States.  It  adopted  the  platfonii 
of  total  abstinence.  Its  memorial  to  the  General  Assembly  asking 
help,  was  a  document  of  great  ability  and  earnestness.  It  sent 
Amos  Roark  to  the  next  General  Assembly  (1838),  and  that  body 
resolved  to  send  the  Rev.  Samuel  Frazier  as  missionary  to  Texas. 
Roark,  accompanied  by  Frazier,  returned  to  Texas  overland,  on 
horseback,  holding  meetings  along  the  way.  In  a  letter  to  the 
church  paper,  written  on  this  long  journey,  they  say  that  in  every 
place  people  bade  them  farewell  with  tears,  imploring  God's 
blessings  on  their  labors  in  that  distant  field. 

Before  the  Texas  Presbytery  was  organized,  the  Rev.  Robert 
Tate,  one  of  the  most  devoted  of  Tennessee's  young  preachers, 
resolved  to  make  Texas  his  home.  This  young  man  had  property 
enough  to  enable  him  to  preach  without  pay,  and  it  is  said  he 
uniformly  refused  to  accept  any  compensation  for  his  preaching. 
His  was  a  wonderful  religious  experience.  After  thrilling  advent- 
ures in  a  life  of  sin,  he  had  been  almost  miraculously  rescued  by 
divine  grace.  He  went  to  Texas  in  1835.  He  spent  less  than  a 
year  preaching  as  an  itinerant  missionary  in  that  country  when 
his  financial  interests  called  him  back  to  Tennessee,  After  trans- 
acting this  business  he  started  on  his  long  journey  back  to  the  land 
of  his  adoption,  but  died  on  his  way,  September  17,  1837.  Tate 
was  not  the  only  pioneer  preacher  in  that  field  who  was  called  to 
heaven  after  a  very  brief  season  of  toil.  Samuel  W.  Frazier 
entered  on  his  work  there,  and  died  the  same  year  at  Houston, 
December  9,  1838. 

That  vear  also  witnessed  the  accession  of  two  more  ordained 


270  CUMBERI^AND   PRESBYTERIAN   HiSTORY.  [Period  III. 

preachers  to  the  Texas  Presbytery.  These  were  James  McDoiinold 
and  Milton  Moore.  In  those  days  the  journey  to  Texas  from  any 
of  the  Eastern  States  was  a  very  different  thing  from  what  it  is 
to-day.  There  were  two  routes,  one  by  river  and  Gulf,  and  then 
by  ox  wagons;  the  other  overland  in  ox  wagons  all  the  way. 
Emigrants  generally  chose  the  latter  route.  Santa  Anna,  while  a 
prisoner,  had  acknowledged  the  independence  of  Texas,  but  Mex- 
ico refused  to  abide  by  the  acts  of  a  prisoner.  War  was  not  over. 
Indians  and  Mexicans  made  common  cause,  and  the  Comanches 
were  more  dreaded  than  the  Mexicans.  When  James  McDonnold 
started  from  Tennessee  to  Texas  great  crowds  of  people  gathered 
to  see  the  family  take  their  departure.  He  had  a  large  circle  of 
kin  besides  numerous  church  friends  whom  his  preaching  had  won. 
His  eldest  son  was  with  Houston's  armies,  and  stories  of  battle 
and  blood  were  still  coming  from  that  land  which  was  farther  off 
than  British  India  is  to-day.  When  the  ox  wagons  began  to  creak 
along  the  highway,  bearing  our  friends  away,  it  was  to  us  who 
were  left  behind  very  much  like  seeing  them  led  to  execution. 
Everybody  was  weeping.  On  McDonnold' s  arrival  in  Texas  he 
entered  on  his  old  life — "a  circuit  rider."  With  a  large  family  to 
support,  he  yet  managed  to  give  himself  to  the  work  of  the 
ministry. 

One  measure  adopted  by  the  Texas  Presbyter}'  at  its  second 
meeting  had  in  it  the  ring  of  1800.  In  the  vast  destitution  which 
that  pioneer  field  presented,  the  presb}tery  resolved  to  send  out 
elders  to  help  to  organize  churches.  Another  fact  shows  the  char- 
acter of  the  times  and  the  dangers  to  which  these  pioneers  were 
exposed.  At  one  time  the  place  appointed  for  the  meeting  of  the 
presbytery  was  invaded  by  the  Indians,  and  the  whole  settlement 
broken  up,  so  that  a  called  meeting  had  to  be  held  to  select  another 
place.  Along  with  this  fact  is  another  of  similar  significance.  R. 
O.  Watkins  had  a  regular  circuit  assigned  him.  The  whole  cir- 
cuit was  invaded  by  Mexicans  and  Indians  and  the  settlers  all 
driven  off.  Watkins  being  imable  to  pursue  his  circuit  work, 
went  to  Mississippi  and  entered  school.  Still  another  incident 
sheds  light  of  the  same  character.  In  1840  the  presbyter}'  M^as  to 
meet  at  Fort  Houston.     When  the  time  for  the  meeting  arrived,  it 


Chapter  XXVL]  ThE    ChURCH    IN    TeXAS.  27I 

was  considered  necessar}^  for  all  the  members  to  arm  themselves 
and  travel  in  a  body,  like  a  band  of  soldiers,  for  mutual  protection. 
At  this  meeting  of  the  presbyter^',  R.  O.  Watkins  was  ordained. 
This  was  the  first  ordination  of  a  minister  by  Protestants  on  Texas 
soil.  At  the  same  meeting  Watkins'  horse  got  away  and  he  had 
to  walk  home,  a  distance  of  eighty  miles,  through  a  country  over 
which  hostile  Indians  were --constantly  roaming.  He  traveled 
mostly  by  night. 

Meantime,  other  valuable  men  were  joining  the  ranks  of  Texas 
Cumberland  Presbyterians.  The  Rev.  J.  M.  Foster,  and  the  Rev. 
F.  B.  Foster,  natives  of  Wilson  County,  Tennessee,  but  Missou- 
rians  by  adoption,  arrived  in  Texas  in  1841,  and  spent  the  rest  of 
their  days  in  labors  for  the  church  in  that  country. 

There  was  a  period  of  great  darkness  to  the  members  of  this 
solitary  presbytery.  Warlike  invasions,  and  other  difficulties, 
drove  them  to  the  verge  of  despair.  Roark  went  back  to  the 
United  States.  A.  J.  McGown  went  also,  but  expected  to  return. 
His  mission  was  to  seek  aid  for  Texas,  and  especially  to  try  to  raise 
money  to  start  a  newspaper.  Some  powerful  appeals  for  help  were 
at  that  time  published  by  Texas  preachers.  They  said  that  other 
churches  were  sustaining  several  missionaries  there,  while  the  little 
band  of  Cumberland  Presbyterian  pioneers  were  left  without  help. 
They  did  not  complain  of  their  own  hardships,  but  pleaded  that 
others  should  be  sent  aud  sustained.  Very  little,  however,  was 
ever  done  by  the  church  through  its  boards  or  General  Assembly 
toward  planting  missions  in  that  coimtry. 

In  1 84 1  McGown  returned  to  Texas.  God  wonderfully  blessed 
the  meetings  held  by  Cumberland  Presbyterians  in  different  parts 
of  that  Republic.  It  was  like  life  from  the  dead.  The  Texas 
Presbytery,  after  being  ready  to  disband,  was  now  ready  to  extend 
its  work.  In  1842  it  asked  for  and  obtained  the  order  for  the 
formation  of  Texas  Synod.  This  synod  was  organized  in  March, 
1843.  It  was  made  up  of  the  Texas  Presbytery,  whose  members 
were  Sumner  Bacon,  Milton  Moore,  Milton  Estill,  and  R.  O. 
Watkins;  the  Red  River  Presbytery,  whose  members  were  Mitch- 
ell Smith,  James  McDonnold,  Robert  Gilkerson,  and  Samuel 
Corley;  and  the  Colorado  Presbytery,  whose  members  were  A.  J. 


272  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  in. 

McGown,  J.  M.  Foster,  and  F.  E.  Foster.  In  1837  our  people  had 
three  preachers  and  four  churches  in  Texas.  In  1842  there  were 
three  presbyteries  and  eleven  ministers;  and  churches,  which  had 
been  planted  amid  the  horrors  of  a  civil  war,  had  grown  up  in  all 
parts  of  the  Republic. 

It  will  be  seen  from  this  little  sketch  that  Cumberland  Presby- 
terians had  the  start  of  all  other  Protestants  on  Texas  soil.  They 
had  the  first  preacher,  the  first  camp  -  meeting,  the  first  church 
judicature,  and  the  first  religious  newspaper  in  that  field.  Texas, 
made  a  State  of  the  Union  in  1846,  with  a  territory  sufficient  to 
sustain  over  thirty  millions  of  people,  with  soil  of  unsurpassed 
fertility,  and  resources  varied  and  inexhaustible,  with  a  rapidly 
growing  population,  is  an  inviting  field  for  our  people.  Among 
the  martyrs  who  died  to  rescue  this  country  from  IVIexican  misrule 
were  the  sons  of  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  church;  and  the 
ministers  of  this  church  were  with  the  patriots  at  San  Jacinto.  Our 
people  have  historic  and  traditional  advantages  which  ought  to 
give  them  ready  access  to  the  hearts  of  Texans  as  long  as  the 
Alamo  and  San  Jacinto  are  remembered. 

Table  of  Texas  Dates. 

182 1  to  1827.  Colonization  by  Missourians  and  other  Anglo-Saxons. 
1828.  Bacon  preaches  the  first  Protestant  sermon  in  Texas. 
1833.  Bacon,  assisted  by   a    Methodist   preacher,  holds   the  first  camp- 
meeting. 

1835.  Bacon  ordained  in  Louisiana.     The  revolution  begins. 

1836.  Independence  declared.     McGown  arrives. 

1837.  Texas  Presbytery  organized.     Arrival  of  Roark  and  Smith. 

1838.  McDonnold,  Frazier,  and  Moore  arrive.     Frazier  dies. 

1839.  Dark  period.     Invasions.' 

1840.  Roark  returns  to  the  United  States.     Watkins  ordained. 

1841.  The  Fosters  arrive.     Great  revival. 

1842.  Organization  of  Texas  Synod  ordered. 
1846.  Texas  annexed  to  the  United  States. 


Chapter  XXVIL]  PENNSYI.VANIA.  273 


CHAPTER   XXVII. 


ORIGIN   OF  THE   CHURCH   IN   PENNSYLVANIA. 

My  presence  shall  go  with  thee.     'Tis  enough! 
Lead  on,  my  heavenly  guide; 

Enough  for  faith  to  hear  thy  voice,  and  see 
Thy  own  right  hand  in  love  upiiolding  me. 

— Anna  Shifio7i. 

IN  1829  ^  Presbyterian  minister  who  held  and  taught  the  doc- 
trine of  a  general  atonement  lived  on  Ten  Mile  Creek,  Wash- 
ington County,  Pennsylvania.  His  name  was  Jacob  Lindley.  In 
the  same  presbytery  was  another  minister  with  equally  liberal 
views  about  the  provisions  of  divine  grace.  His  name  was  Cor- 
nelius lyoughran.  The  churches  of  these  two  men  shared  in  these 
views,  as  did  several  other  Presbyterian  churches  in  western  Penn- 
sylvania. When  the  outline  of  Cumberland  Presbyterian  doctrines 
appeared  in  Buck's  Theological  Dictionary,  many  of  these  people 
read  it  with  intense  interest. 

Two  agents  for  Cumberland  College,  the  Rev.  M.  H.  Bone  and 
the  Rev.  John  W.  Ogden,  whose  commission  embraced  the  whole 
United  States,  extended  their  labors  into  western  Pennsylvania. 
They  began  their  mission  in  June,  1829.  Smith's  history  says  of 
them: 

They  spent  the  following  summer  and  autumn  in  the  State  of  Ohio 
and  in  western  Pennsylvania,  preaching  with  power  and  demonstration 
of  the  Spirit,  especially  in  Ohio,  where  through  their  instrumentality 
many  souls  found  redemption.  Their  mission  paved  the  way  for  the 
opening  of  a  door  for  extensive  usefulness  to  the  church  in  Ohio,  west- 
ern Pennsylvania,  and  New  York.  In  January,  1S31,  by  request  of  a 
congregation  of  Presbyterians  in  Washington  County,  Pennsylvania, 
five  of  its  members  wrote  a  letter  to  the  president  of  Cumberland  Col- 
lege, stating  that  they  had  lately  heard  of  the  existence  of  the  Cumber- 
land Presbyterians  in  the  West;  that  they  had  examined,  in  Buck's  The- 
18 


274  CUMBERLAXD    PRESBYTERIAN    HiSTORY.  [Period  III. 

ological  Dictionary,  the  l)rief  expose  of  their  doctrines  and  discipline, 
which  the  congregation  sincerely  apj^roved;"  that  although  they  were 
members  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  they  could  not  adopt  the  whole  of 
its  Confession  of  Faith,  and  were  solicitous  to  become  better  acquainted 
with  the  Cumberland  Presbyterians,  who  were  viewed  by  them  as  their 
brethren  in  Christ  Jesus.  They  requested  that  the  president  should 
adopt  some  measures  to  provide  them,  at  least  for  a  short  time,  with  the 
ministrations  of  a  Cumberland  Presbyterian  missionary.  ]VIr.  Cossitt 
informed  them  that  he  would  lay  their  case  before  the  next  General 
Assembly,  and  urge  upon  that  body  to  meet  with  their  wishes  on  the 
subject.  To  this  the  committee  replied:  "  Immediately  on  the  receipt 
of  yours,  we  called  a  meeting  of  the  congregation,  and,  having  read 
your  letter  to  them,  they  expressed  their  gratiHcation  at  the  prospect  of 
becoming  better  acquainted  with  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  minis- 
ters. They  entreated  us  to  continue  our  correspondence  with  you,  and 
to  renew  the  request  that  your  Assembly  would  send  us  a  missionary  for 
a  short  time.  Should  you  succeed,  we  wish  you  to  inform  us  as  early 
as  possible;  and,  if  practicable,  we  are  solicitous  for  him  to  reach  here 
by  the  first  of  June,  which  will  enable  us  (should  we  agree  with  you  in 
faith  and  practice)  to  obtain  our  dismission  from  the  Presbyterian 
church  at  the  session  of  j^resbytery  which  meets  about  the  middle  of 
that  month.  We  are  also  authorized  to  state  that  our  minister  heartily 
approves  of  our  procedure,  and  will  Avith  us  attach  himself  to  your 
body  as  soon  as  an  opportunity  ofters.'  We  think  that  nine  tenths  of 
our  sister  congregations  of  the  Presbvtcrian  church  believe  as  we  do, 
and  for  some  time,  especially  since  two  of  your  preachers  w'ere  in 
Washington,  an  anxious  desire  has  been  manifested  bv  them  to  become 
better  acquainted  with  your  ministry.  I^Iany  who  make  no  profession 
of  religion  are  solicitous  for  3'our  ministers  to  operate  in  this  country; 
and  we  believe  that  if  your  Assembly  will  send  us  one  or  more  zealous 
preachers,  they  will  prove  a  great  blessing  to  the  church  of  Christ. 
We  do  request  that  you  will  press  the  matter  upon  the  General  Assem- 
bly with  as  much  ardor  as  possible." 

These  documents,  together  with  others  of  the  same  nature  from  the 
western  section  of  the  State  of  New  York,  were  laid  before  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly  of  1S31.  The  Assembly  viewed  these  pressing  calls  as 
an  intimation  that  the  Head  of  the  Church  was  opening  a  more  exten- 
sive field  of  labor  to  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  ministry,  and  ap- 
pointed Alexander  Chapman,  Robert  Donnell,  Reuben  Burrow,  John 
Morgan,  and  A.  M.  Bryan  missionaries  to  visit  the  congregations  that 
had  applied  for  the  ministrations  of  Cumberland  Presbyterians.     Imme- 

'  This  congregation  was  without  a  pastor  when  the  missionaries  arrived 


Chapter  XXVII.]  PENNSYLVANIA.  275 

diately  after  their  appointment,  Chapman,  Morgan,  and  Bryan  pro- 
ceeded to  western  Pennsylvania.  Donnell  and  Burrow  passed  through 
North  CaroHna  and  Virginia,  and  in  tlie  autumn  met  the  others  in  the 
vicinity  of  Washington,  Pennsylvania.  An  extract  from  a  letter  to  Mr. 
Cossitt  from  a  member  of  the  Pennsylvania  congregation  that  had  ap- 
plied for  a  Cumberland  Presbyterian  missionary,  exhibits  the  reception 
of  the  missionaries  by  that  people,  and  the  success  of  their  first  labors: 
"Messrs.  Chapman,  Bryan,  and  Morgan  reached  us  about  three  weeks 
ago,  and  were  received  with  joy  and  thankfulness.  Their  first  business 
was  to  declare  their  doctrinal  views.  This  they  did  with  such  clearness 
and  perspicuity,  that  almost  all  who  heard  them  appeared  to  be  con- 
vinced that  their  peculiarities  were  founded  on  the  word  of  God,  and 
none  were  disposed  to  controvert.  Having  declared  their  peculiar 
views,  they  dropped  non-essentials,  and  commenced  preaching  Christ 
and  him  crucified.  This  they  did  with  such  power  and  demonstration 
of  the  Spirit,  that  many  were  cut  to  the  heart.  At  the  close  of  the 
sixth  sermon  preached  by  them,  Mr.  Morgan  invited  all  who  desired  to 
obtain  an  interest  in  the  blood  of  Christ,  to  distinguish  themselves  by 
meeting  him  before  the  stand,  and  to  our  astonishment  forty-two  went 
forward,  and  at  this  time  more  than  a  hundred  have  thus  distinguished 
themselves.  God  has  often  revived  his  work  among  us  here,  but  we 
have  never  before  v/itnessed  any  thing  to  compare  with  the  blessed 
work  which  is  now  in  progress  among  us  through  the  instrumentality 
of  these  missionaries  from  the  West." 

John  Morgan  gives  this  account  of  the  work: 

Messrs.  Bryan  and  Morgan,  after  visiting  and  preaching  at  many 
points  on  the  way,  reached  Washington,  Pennsylvania,  July  14,  1S31. 
At  this  time  there  was  not  a  member  of  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian 
church  in  any  part  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania.  The  Methodist 
brethren  received  us  kindly,  to  some  of  whom  we  had  introductory  let- 
ters from  the  Rev.  C.  Cook,  a  Methodist  preacher  then  stationed  in 
Wheeling,  Virginia.  We  preached  several  sermons  in  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  church  in  Washington,  then  under  the  pastoral  care  of  the 
Rev.  John  Waterman,  who  received  and  treated  us  in  a  most  courteous 
and  Christian  manner.  Nothing  of  special  interest  occurred  at  this 
time  under  the  preaching  at  Washington.  In  a  few  days  a  committee 
from  those  persons  who  had  written  to  Dr.  Cossitt  asking  for  missiona- 
ries waited  on  us,  and  told  us  an  appointment  had  been  published  for 
one  of  us  to  preach  on  Wednesday,  the  20th  of  July,  in  the  afternoon, 
at  a  small  church  belonging  to  the  Methodists,  called  Mount  Zion,  about 
twelve  miles  from  Washington.  Mr.  Bryan  was  now  quite  unwell, 
Mr.  Morgan  accompanied  the  committee  to  the  place  appointed,  where 


276  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  in. 

we  found  a  large  and  promiscuous  crowd  of  people,  all  anxious  to  hear 
what  these  Cumberland  Presbyterian  preachers  would  say.  The  Rev. 
Jacob  Lindlcy,  then  pastor  of  a  Presbyterian  church  in  that  neighbor- 
hood, was  present,  and  after  receiving  an  introduction  to  "the  strange 
preacher,"  was  invited  to  take  a  seat  in  the  pulpit,  which  he  did  very 
cordially.  During  the  sermon  there  was  nothing  remarkable  but  a 
fixedness  of  attention  on  the  part  of  every  hearer,  and  many  tears  from 
many  eyes,  which  bespoke  the  searching  influence  of  gospel  truth. 
Mr.  Lindley  closed  the  meeting  with  an  unusually  feeling  and  powerful 
prayer,  the  tears  streaming  from  his  eyes  all  the  time. 

An  appointment  was  then  made  for  preaching  the  next  Sabbath  in 
a  sugar  camp  in  that  neighborhood.  We  had  no  meeting-houses  of 
course;  and,  indeed,  if  we  had  had,  unless  they  had  been  large  enough 
to  cover  from  a  half  acre  to  an  acre  of  ground,  they  would  have  been  of 
but  little  use  to  us,  so  large  were  the  crowds  that  attended.  Sabbath 
came,  and  the  people  from  all  directions  came  pouring  into  the  sugar 
camp,  a  most  delightful  and  beautiful  spot,  and  one  now  dear  to  many 
hearts  from  the  recollection  of  what  it  pleased  the  Lord  to  do  for  them 
in  that  place. 

By  this  time  Father  Chapman  had  reached  us,  who  was  a  most 
precious  instrument  in  the  hands  of  God  in  winning  souls  to  Christ. 
Our  hearts  were  cheered  by  this  valuable  accession  of  ministerial  help. 
Mr.  Brvan  was  still  unable  to  preach,  though  convalescent,  and  in  a  few 
days  was  able  to  join  our  feeble  band. 

The  hour  for  preaching  arrived.  Mr.  Morgan  preached,  and  was 
succeeded  by  Mr.  Chapman  immediately  with  another  sermon.  During 
the  pi'eaching  a  deep  solemnity  pervaded  the  vast  assembly.  All  was 
still  and  orderly  however,  only  that  one  lady  fell  from  her  seat  as  if  she 

had   fainted.     Dr.  B ,  being  on  the   ground,  was  called  to  her,  but 

was  unable  to  determine  the  nature  of  her  disease — a  strong  mark  of 
the  doctor's  discriminating  medical  judgment — for,  indeed,  it  was  a  case 
which  demanded  the  presence  and  skill  of  the  Physician  of  souls,  to 
whom  she  made  fervent  application  in  prayer,  and  was  made  every 
whit  whole. 

In  the  afternoon  of  that  day  we  preached  at  a  private  house  (Mr. 
Marsh's),  where  the  mighty  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost  was  realized  by 
all  present.  Christians  were  melted  into  penitence  and  thankfulness, 
many  of  the  unconverted  were  cut  to  the  heart,  and  some  cried  out, 
"Sirs,  what  must  we  do  to  be  saved."  It  was  manifest  the  Lord  had 
begun  a  great  and  good  work  among  the  people.  We  continued 
preaching  from  house  to  house  and  grove  to  grove  every  day  during 
the  whole  week,  and  convictions  multiplied  daily  in  every  direction. 

The  people  in  the  neighborhood  had  enjoyed  religious  instruction 


Chapter  XXVII.]  PENNSYLVANIA.  277 

under  Presbj'terian  influence  during  all  their  lives.  No  people  could  be 
more  opposed  to  noisy  excitements  than  they  were.  .  .  .  Their  exer- 
cises were  not  the  result  of  education  in  favor  of  such  things,  but  of  the 
mighty  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost  sent  down  from  heaven. 

Many  of  the  ministers  and  members  of  the  Presbyterian  church 
had  received  information  that  we  were  coming  to  this  country,  and  had 
taken  timely  measures  to  prevent  their  people  from  hearing  us  preach. 
But  this  only  increased  their  anxiety  to  hear  what  we  had  to  say,  and  go 
they  would.  One  would  be  the  means  of  another's  going.  All  who 
went  seemed  to  have  their  prejudices  greatly  abated,  and  became  more 
and  more  anxious  to  go  again,  and  to  have  others  go.  The  very  means 
intended  to  hedge  up  our  way  only  tended  to  build  us  up,  and  taught 
us  this  very  important  lesson,  that  gag  laws  and  proscriptive  acts  will 
never  answer  the  purposes  of  those  who  enact  them  among  a  free  peo- 
ple. They  tend  directly  to  promote  the  things  they  are  intended  to 
defeat. 

The  first  Presbyterian  minister  to  open  his  church  to  the  mis- 
sionaries wao  the  Rev.  Mr.  Dodd,  of  ' '  the  Brick  church. ' '  He  had 
heard  them  preach,  and  he  gave  them  a  hearty  invitation  to  hold  a 
meeting  in  his  congregation.  Many  members  of  this  church  after- 
ward joined  the  Cumberland  Presbyterians.  Philip  and  Luther 
Axtell,  both  faithful  and  beloved  ministers  of  our  church  in  west- 
ern Pennsylvania,  were  sons  of  one  of  these  members. '  It  is  said 
that  when  a  large  part  of  this  flock  joined  "the  heretics,"  and  the 
Presbyterian  congregation  ceased  to  exist,  the  remnant  preferred 
tearing  down  the  house  to  letting  the  Cumberland  Presbyterians 
use  it. 

The  next  invitation  came  from  Jacob  Lindley,  of  Ten  Mile. 
The  meeting  in  Mr.  Lindley' s  congregation  is  minutely  described 
by  Mr.  Morgan.  When  "mourners"  were  called  for,  seventy-five 
responded.  Some  of  the  old  elders  began  to  oppose  the  work,  but 
the  pastor  encouraged  the  missionaries.     Mr.  Morgan  says: 

In  the  arrangement  for  preaching  on  Monday  Mr.  Chapman  was 
appointed  to  occupy  the  pulpit  at  ii  o'clock  a.m.  He  preached  from 
the  text,  "Strait  is  the  gate  and  naiTow  is  the  way  which  leadeth  unto 
life,  and  few  there  be  that  find  it."  Plis  manner  was  naturally  agreea- 
ble, his  person  dignified  and  commanding,  his  voice  clear,  strong,  and 
musical.     He  seldom  preached  without  leaving  a  deep  sense  of  religious 

'  Luther  Axtell  died  March  23,  1SS6. 


278  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  in. 

awe  upon  the  minds  of  his  hearers,  but  on  this  occasion  he  far  sur- 
passed himself.  He  became  awfully  sublime  in  his  descriptions  of  the 
sinner's  danger  and  of  the  love  of  God  in  Christ  to  a  perishing  world. 
The  house  was  large,  and  crowded  full  of  people.  Every  eye  was 
fixed  on  the  preacher  during  the  whole  discourse;  every  heart  melted; 
not  one  careless  person  could  be  seen  in  all  the  crowd.  The  service 
closed  very  happily,  leaving  a  favorable  impression  on  every  heart. 

After  a  recess  of  thirty  minutes  or  more  the  people  came  together 
again,  Mr.  Morgan  was  to  preach.  After  reading  a  hymn  he  remarked 
that  some  thought  the  anxious  had  been  called  forward  the  evening  be- 
fore under  too  much  excitement;  and  to  prevent  this  charge  being  made 
again,  he  was  going  to  invite  them  forward  at  the  very  commencement 
of  the  service,  before  singing  or  prayer,  and  without  making  any  appeal 
to  their  feelings.  The  seats  being  prepared,  one  hundred  and  two  came 
forward.  A  more  moving  scene  has  seldom  been  witnessed.  When 
their  sons  and  daughters  and  neighbors  of  all  ages,  from  the  children 
of  but  ten  to  men  and  women  of  seventy  years  of  age,  from  the  most 
intelligent  and  moral  down  to  the  most  ignoi-ant  and  profligate,  were 
seen  deliberately  coming  forward  in  the  public  assembly  deeply  affected 
with  a  sense  of  their  lost  condition,  even  many  of  those  who  had  found 
fault  before  now  melted  and  said,  "  It  is  the  Lord,  let  him  do  what 
seemeth  him  good."  A  most  powerful  and  general  revival  of  religion 
ensued.  Hundreds  were  hopefully  converted  to  God,  and  Christians 
of  different  sects  were  revived  and  stirred  up  to  take  a  deep  and  lively 
interest  in  the  promotion  of  the  Redeemer's  kingdom. 

In  regard  to  the  formation  of  the  first  Cumberland  Presbyterian 
church  in  that  State  Mr.  Morgan  says: 

After  having  preached  some  time,  and  the  work  having  progressed 
to  a  considerable  extent,  those  individuals  who  had  applied  for  mission 
aries  to  be  sent  desired  the  formation  of  a  church.  To  this  the  minis- 
ters replied,  "We  do  not  expect  to  remain  in  this  country;  we  wish  to 
return  South."  This,  however,  was  strongly  objected  to,  and  the 
strongest  appeals  made  to  induce  them  to  remain.  To  this  they  did  not 
consent  until  late  in  tlie  fall  of  1831. 

The  first  church  was  organized  on  the  i8th  of  August,  1831.  The 
appointment  had  been  previously  made  for  preaching  and  the  organi- 
zation of  the  church  Many  people  came,  some  from  a  considerable 
distance:  some  to  join  the  church,  and  others  to  see  who  would  join. 
The  service  was  held  in  a  beautiful  grove  on  the  premises  of  William 
Stockdale,  Washington  County,  Pennsylvania.  The  minister  arose  and 
read  this  beautiful  text,  "For  I  am  not  ashamed  of  the  gospel  of  Christ, 
for  it  is  the  power  of  God  unto  salvation  to  every  one  that  believeth." 


Chapter  XXVII.]  PENNSYLVANIA.  2/9 

When  he  closed  his  sermon,  it  seemed  that  all  present  had  imbibed 
the  sentiment  expressed  by  the  apostle.  I  do  not  now  remember  the 
number  who  associated  themselves  together  at  this  meeting  as  a  church, 
but  the  number  was  large,  and  the  promptness  and  zeal  manifested 
showed  that  they  were  in  good  earnest,  and  understood  what  they  were 
doing.  This  little  band  grew  rapidly  in  numbers,  zeal,  and  usefulness. 
The  circumstances  under  which  this  church  was  organized  were 
truly  trying.  Think  of  a  people  publicly  adopting  the  religious  views 
of  a  denomination  which  they  had  but  very  recently  known,  and 
against  which  rumor,  with  her  ten  thousand  tongues,  was  scattering 
abroad  every  kind  of  slander  that  prejudice  and  bigotry  could  invent. 
Add  to  this  the  fact  that  there  was  not  another  congregation  of  the 
same  church  within  five  hundred  miles,  and  it  will  be  plain  that  it  re- 
quired strong  faith  and  unshaken  confidence  in  God,  and  in  the  power 
of  his  truth,  which  they  believed  they  were  adopting,  to  enable  them 
to  take  the  step  they  did. 

Mr.  Morgan  describes  the  first  camp-meeting  held  by  our  mis- 
sionaries in  Pennsylvania  in  these  words: 

Cases  of  deep  awakening  had  become  so  numerous,  and  the  subjects 
were  so  remote  from  each  other,  that  the  missionaries  thought  best  to 
propose  holding  a  camp-meeting  as  the  best  method  of  getting  them 
together,  and  of  bringing  them  more  directly  and  effectually  under  the 
influence  of  the  means  of  grace.  But  the  idea  of  a  camp-meeting  was 
shocking  to  most  of  the  people  in  that  neighborhood.  They  urged  that 
it  would  be  impolitic — look  too  much  like  the  Methodists.  Such  meet- 
ings, in  their  opinion,  were  calculated  to  produce  disorder  in  worship, 
and  bring  religion  into  disrepute.  To  this  the  missionaries  replied  that 
there  was  nothing  peculiar  in  camp-meetings  further  than  the  fact  that 
the  people  stay  on  the  ground  and  do  not  return  home  after  one  service 
is  over;  that  there  was  nothing  in  this  calculated  to  produce  disorder, 
that  it  was  this  remaining  on  the  ground,  secluded  from  domestic  and 
worldly  cares,  worldly  company  and  influences,  which  give  camp- 
meetings  their  chief  advantage  over  other  meetings;  that  more  people 
could  be  thus  brought  together  and  kejDt  on  the  spot  where  the  means 
of  grace  are  brought  to  bear  directly  and  continuously  upon  the  mind. 
They  insisted  that,  under  proper  regulations,  camp-meetings  might  be 
conducted  with  as  good  order  and  as  much  religious  dignity  as  any 
other.  After  many  meetings  and  much  conversation  on  the  subject,  it 
was  decided  to  hold  a  camp-meeting.  The  first  Sunday  in  September, 
1831,  was  the  time  agreed  on.  The  people  went  to  the  ground  to  make 
the  necessary  preparations.  The  pulpit  was  erected  of  boards,  and 
made  large  enough  to  contain  nearly  a  dozen  persons.    Before  it  seats  for 


28o  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.      [Period  iii. 

the  accommodation  of  many  hundreds  were  arranged.  Tents  made  of 
logs,  boards,  and  canvas  were  arranged  so  as  to  form  a  hollow  square 
of  about  an  acre  of  ground.  Two  hundred  and  Hfty  families  tented  on 
the  ground,  one  hundred  wagons  and  carriages  stood  round  the  encamp- 
ment. The  services  commenced  on  Thursday  evening  with  a  lecture 
on  the  duties  of  Christians  on  such  occasions.  Friday  was  observed  as 
a  day  for  fasting  and  prayer.  The  services  from  the  beginning  were 
unusually  interesting  and  solemn.  Christians  were  in  the  spirit,  and 
abounded  in  prayer.  The  irreligious  were  attentive,  and  scores  of  anx- 
ious souls  who  had  been  awakened  before  came  here  to  ask  what  they 
must  do  to  be  saved,  and  to  seek  an  interest  in  the  blood  of  Christ. 
The  power  of  the  Lord  was  present  to  heal,  and  there  were  happy  con- 
versions at  the  commencement  of  the  meeting.  The  concourse  grew 
larger  every  day  until  Sunday,  when  the  number  present  was  estimated 
at  from  five  to  seven  thousand  people.  We  have  attended  many  meet- 
ings, but  this  surpassed  any  we  had  seen.  Several  times  when  the 
anxious  were  invited  forward,  two  hundred  and  fifty  wei"e  counted  on 
the  seats  at  one  time.  Not  one  light,  trifling  countenance  was  to  be 
seen  in  all  the  crowd.  Convictions  for  sin  were  more  general,  deeper, 
and  more  rational  than  we  had  ever  before  noticed,  and  conversions 
were  the  clearest,  and  attended  with  the  most  overwhelming  joy  and 
peace.  It  was  common  to  see  persons  of  age  and  intelligence,  over- 
whelmed by  a  sense  of  their  sins,  in  the  deepest  anguish  of  soul  as  if 
they  could  not  possibly  live.  From  this  sad  and  affecting  state  they 
would  seem  all  of  a  sudden  to  awake  into  light  and  life  and  jo}^  the 
most  ecstatic  and  indescribable.  We  can  never  recur  to  those  blessed 
scenes  but  with  the  deepest  emotions. 

Three  hundred  conversions  were  reported  to  the  church  paper 
at  the  time.  Jacob  Lindley,  who  was  a  Presbyterian,  says'  that 
the  missionaries  had  sitch  a  hold  upon  the  sympathies  of  the  young 
converts  that  nearly  all  of  them  would  have  joined  the  Cumber- 
land Presbyterian  church  had  the  opportunity  then  and  there  been 
given;  and  that,  in  view  of  this  fact,  the  missionaries  proposed  the 
plan  of  waiting  four  weeks,  and  then  having  the  officers  of  all  the 
cooperating  congregations  meet  the  converts  at  Mr.  Lindley' s 
church  for  the  purpose  of  receiving  members.  As  a  large  number 
of  the  converts  were  members  of  Mr.  Lindley' s  Sunday-school, 
this  measure  saved  his  congregation  from  heavy  loss.  In  four 
weeks  all  had  time  to  think  soberly,  and  Mr.  Lindley  received  one 

'Manuscript  autobiography,  p.  221,  et  se,q. 


Chapter  XXVII.]  PENNSYLVANIA.  28l 

hundred  of  the  converts  into  his  church.  According  to  Mr.  Lind- 
ley  this  was  not  the  only  time  that  these  missionaries  might  easily 
have  taken  advantage  of  the  tide  of  popular  sympathy  and  carried 
whole  congregations  into  the  Cumberland  Presb\-terian  church. 
He  mentions  four  other  instances  in  which  the}'  refused  to  take 
such  advantage,  and  he  testifies  most  earnestly  to  their  disinter- 
ested love  of  souls,  and  their  freedom  from  all  partisan  and  secta- 
rian motives.  He  wrote  this  testimony  while  he  was  still  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Presbj'terian  church,  and  he  says  that  he  had  no  expec- 
tations at  that  time  of  ever  becoming  a  Cumberland  Presbyterian. 

The  foregoing  description  of  this  first  Pennsylvania  camp-meet- 
ing was  published  by  Mr.  Morgan  in  1840.  There  is  another 
account  of  these  events  which  was  written  bv  ]\Ir.  Morgfan,  and 
published  in  the  church  paper  the  same  year  in  which  they 
occurred.  There  is  also  a  manuscript  account  of  this  meeting 
written  by  Reuben  Burrow.  From  these  sources  we  learn  that  the 
meeting  continued  seven  days,  and  that  such  crowds  of  people 
gathered  on  Sunday  that  no  one  man's  voice  could  reach  them  all. 
Though  the  services  were  out  of  doors,  yet  two  sermons  were 
preached  simultaneously.  Donnell  preached  at  the  stand  where 
there  were  seats,  and  Morgan  under  the  trees  where  no  seats  were 
prepared. 

Among  other  interesting  incidents  Mr.  Morgan  tells  about  the 
conversion  of  an  old  man  who  just  before  the  beginning  of  this 
camp-meeting  became  so  violent  in  his  opposition  to  the  missiona- 
ries, and  so  enraged  because  some  members  of  his  family  had 
joined  the  Cumberland  Presbyterians,  that  in  a  drunken  fit  he 
attempted  to  kill  his  wife.  With  his  gun  in  his  hand  he  drove 
the  family  away  from  home,  and  remained  for  three  days  alone  in 
his  house  raging  and  blaspheming.  But  at  the  end  of  this  time 
he  sent  for  his  family  to  return,  and,  to  their  astonishment,  they 
found  him  praying.  He  asked  to  be  taken  to  the  camp-meeting, 
which  was  to  begin  the  next  day.  He  was  unable  to  walk,  but 
supported  by  his  two  sons  he  appeared  on  the  camp-ground  early 
in  the  morning  before  the  services  began.  He  went  to  the  preach- 
ers' tent  and  implored  their  forgiveness,  begging  them  to  pray  for 
him.     He  professed  conversion  that  day,  and  soon  afterward  joined 


283  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  iii, 

* 

the  church,  and  continued  a  consistent  and  worthy  Christian  until 
his  death. 

This  first  camp-meeting  was  held  in  the  neighborhood  of  the 
church  now  known  as  Concord.  When  this  camp-meeting  was 
just  beginning,  Burrow  and  Donnell  arrived.  Burrow  was  sick, 
but  Donnell  preached  throughout  the  meeting.  There  are  old 
people  still  living  who  describe  his  wonderful  discourses,  quoting 
the  very  texts  and  giving  many  of  the  main  points  of  the  sermons. 
Several  of  these  aged  members  seem  to  be  deeply  imbued  with  the 
spirit  which  reigned  in  that  first  camp-meeting.  This  church  is 
not  on  the  same  spot  where  the  meeting  in  the  grove  of  sugar  trees 
was  held,  but  is  in  the  same  neighborhood.  This  first  camp-meet- 
ing silenced  all  the  objections  to  such  meetings,  and  another  was 
soon  held  in  another  neighborhood. 

This  incident  is  related  about  Burrow.  He  and  Donnell  made 
an  agreement  that  if  either  one  felt  specially  impressed  to  preach 
on  some  particular  subject  when  the  other  happened  to  be  the  one 
appointed  to  preach,  the  fact  was  to  be  made  known,  and  the  one 
appointed  to  preach  was  to  give  way.  While  they  were  in  Penn- 
sylvania, Burrow  was  appointed  to  preach  on  a  certain  day.  All 
the  morning,  in  prayer  and  study,  he  had  struggled  in  vain  to  get 
hold  of  some  text,  some  old  sermon  or  new  sermon  which  he  could 
take  an  interest  in,  but  even,-  thing  was  dark.  He  could  not  decide 
on  any  text.  In  this  state  of  mind  he  went  into  the  pulpit.  The 
introductory  services  were  over,  and  he  rose  to  his  feet,  but  still 
utterly  in  the  dark  as  to  what  his  text  or  sermon  should  be.  He 
opened  the  Bible  and  began  reading  a  chapter,  his  heart  cr^-ing 
meanwhile  to  God  for  some  gleam  of  light.  While  he  was  read- 
ing, Donnell  pulled  him  by  the  coat,  and  said:  "Reuben,  I  think 
God  wants  me  to  preach  to-da}'."  Burrow  said  afterward  that  if 
ever  his  heart  went  out  to  God  in  thanksgiving  it  was  then;  and 
that  of  all  the  many  powerful  sermons  he  had  heard  Robert  Don- 
nell preach,  that  was  the  most  powerful.'  All  the  first  Cumber- 
land Presbyterian  preachers  believed  that  God  gave  special  indica- 
tions of  his  will  in  such  matters,  and  they  were  very  careful  to 
obey  those  indications. 

*  Conversations  with  Dr.  Burrow. 


Chapter  XXVIL]  PENNSYLVANIA.  283 

There  were  enough  of  the  missionaries  to  hold  meetings  simul- 
taneously in  diflferent  places.  The  Rev.  A.  M.  Bryan  was  the  first 
to  work  in  Pittsburg.  No  church  was  opened  to  him  ;  but  he 
preached  on  the  streets  and  elsewhere,  and  soon  won  many  friends. 
In  the  church  paper,  The  Religions  and  Literacy  Intelligencer^ 
the  missionaries  gave  regular  reports  of  their  work.  There  were 
reported  by  them  for  the  whole  period  of  their  first  mission,  June 
to  November,  1831,  about  eight  hundred  conversions.  These  let- 
ters state  that  the  only  obstacle  in  the  way  of  forming  Cumberland 
Presbyterian  congregations  throughout  that  field  was  the  impossi- 
bility of  supplying  them  with  preaching.  Two  of  the  missionaries 
had  made  up  their  minds  to  make  Pennsylvania  their  permanent 
home,  and  the  number  of  churches  was  limited  by  this  scanty 
prospect  for  the  means  of  grace.  The  congregations  organized 
were  one  at  Washington  with  fifty  members,  one  twelve  miles 
from  Washington  with  two  hundred  members,  another  in  W^ash- 
ington  county  with  forty  members,  and  another  in  the  town  of 
Jefferson  with  fifty-two  members. ' 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Loughran,  who  preached  the  doctrine. of  a  general 
atonement,  had  ministered  to  the  Presbyterians  of  Waynesburg. 
He  afterward  became  a  Cumberland  Presbyterian.  In  November, 
1831,  Mr.  Morgan,  just  before  he  returned  temporarily  to  the 
South,  and  after  the  other  missionaries  had  gone,  assisted  Bryan 
in  a  meeting  in  Waynesburg,  and.  they  organized  a  small  church 
in  that  place.     It  had  but  twenty-two  members. 

In  the  autumn  of  1831,  Burrow,  Donnell,  and  Chapman  returned 
to  the  South.  Morgan  remained  till  late  in  December,  and  then 
he  returned.  Bryan  was  now  alone,  but  before  December  passed 
away  the  Rev.  Milton  Bird  arrived.  The  reports  published  by  the 
missionaries  had  stirred  the  whole  church.  Mr.  Bryan  had  made 
up  his  mind  to  make  Pennsylvania  his  permanent  field  of  labor, 
and  although  Morgan  went  South  in  December,  it  was  only  to 
make  his  arrangements  for  a  permanent  settlement  in  Pennsyl- 
vania. 

All  the  missionaries  jointly  addressed  a  letter  to  Green  River 

"  This  is  taken  from  the  official  report  of  their  work,  made  by  the  missionaries. 
The  names  of  the  churches  are  not  given  in  that  report. 


284  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  in. 

Synod,  whose  jurisdiction  extended  indefinitely  northward,  pray- 
ing for  the  organization  of  a  presbytery  in  Pennsylvania.  This 
letter  was  sent  to  the  synod  before  the  missionaries  left  that  State. 
It  was  published  October  20,  1831.  In  the  same  month  Green 
River  Synod  passed  the  order  for  the  formation  of  the  presbytery. 
It  was  at  first  called  Washington,  and  included  the  States  of  New 
York,  Pennsylvania,  and  Ohio.  Its  original  members  were  to  be 
William  Harris,  Alexander  Chapman,  A.  M,  Bryan,  and  Milton 
Bird.  Friday  before  the  first  Sabbath  in  May,  1832,  was  set  for  its 
first  meeting.  That  Chapman  and  Harris  went  horseback  from 
Kentucky  to  Pennsylvania,  simply  to  constitute  this  Presbyter}-, 
and  that  they  did  so  at  their  own  expense,  was  nothing  at  all 
remarkable  then.  The  Rev.  S.  M.  Aston  was  also  at  this  meeting 
with  his  letter  ready  to  join  the  presbytery  as  soon  as  it  was 
organized.  It  was  his  purpose,  also,  to  make  this  field  his  perma- 
nent home. 

In  the  manuscript  autobiography  of  the  Rev.  Le  Ro}-  Woods  is 
an  interesting  account  of  Mr.  Morgan's  efforts  to  secure  help  for 
Pennsylvania.  Morgan  visited  the  presbyteries  pleading  for  men. 
His  zeal  was  a  flaming  fire.  He  had  long  private  conferences  with 
the  young  preachers  on  this  subject.  With  arguments,  appeals, 
and  tears  he  labored  to  enlist  recruits  for  the  Pennsylvania  work. 
The  Rev.  S.  M.  Sparks  and  the  Rev.  Le  Ro)'  Woods  finally  con- 
sented to  accompany  Mr.  Morgan.  The  Assembly  of  1832  com- 
missioned all  three  of  these  men  to  go  as  missionaries  to  Penn- 
sylvania. 

We  have  in  Mr.  Woods'  manuscript  another  glimpse  of  the 
habits  of  that  time.  He  bought  horse,  saddle,  and  bridle  on  a 
credit,  borrowed  money  for  traveling  expenses,  and,  on  the  4th  day 
of  Jime,  1832,  he  and  his  comrades  set  out  on  their  long  journey. 
They  reached  their  destination  on  the  7th  of  July.  Mr.  Woods 
was  appointed  to  preach  to  the  Greene  County  churches,  and  he 
puts  on  record  his  grateful  acknowledgment  of  the  liberalit}-  of  this 
people — especially  those  of  Carmichaels.  His  debts  back  in  Ten- 
nessee were  promptly  paid,  and  all  his  financial  wants  fully  pro- 
vided for.  Mr.  Woods  also  puts  on  record  a  noble  tribute  to  his 
wife's  helpfulness  to  him  in  all  his  ministerial  life.     She  was  a 


Chapter  XXVII.]  PENNSYLVANIA.  285 

daughter  of  the  Rev.  Jacob  Lindley.  Mr.  Woods  married  her  after 
he  went  to  Pennsylvania.  He  gained  that,  as  well  as  other  bene- 
fits, by  his  mission. 

The  manuscript  autobiography  of  the  Rev.  Jacob  lyindley 
shows  what  were  his  own  relations  to  this  mission.  He  had  been 
president  of  the  University  of  Ohio;  but  in  1831  was  the  pastor  of 
a  very  large  country  church  in  western  Pennsylvania.  He  says 
that  he  had  heard  the  statement  often  that  the  ' '  Cumberlands ' '  and 
"Schismatics,"  or  "New  Lights,"  were  the  same  body.  He  had 
met  with  the  Schismatics,  and  had  no  use  for  them.  When,  there- 
fore, he  learned  that  missionaries  from  the  Cumberland  Presby- 
terian church  were  to  hold  meetings  in  his  country,  and  within 
reach  of  the  lambs  of  his  flock,  he  was  filled  with  alarm.  That  the 
missionaries  were  men  of  power  only  increased  his  apprehensions. 
He  determined  to  prepare  for  battle.  First,  he  took  up  the  records 
of  his  own  General  Assembly  and  other  works,  and  studied  the  his- 
tory of  the  case.  This  study  amazed  him.  The  "Cumberlands" 
and  "New  Lights"  had  nothing  in  common.  They  originated  in 
different  parts  of  the  country,  at  different  times,  and  had  never 
affiliated.  They  were  not  alike  in  doctrines,  polity,  or  history. 
The  Cumberland  Presbyterians,  he  was  surprised  to  find,  had  a 
Confession  of  Faith.  He  had  been  told  that  they  denounced  all 
human  creeds.  What  still  more  surprised  him  was  that  thev  held 
that  very  same  system  of  doctrines  which  he  had  avowed  to  his 
presbytery,  at  the  tiine  of  his  ordination,  thirty  years  before,  and 
which  he  had  been  preaching  ever  since  without  any  charo-e  of 
heresy  being  brought  against  him.  Still  more,  he  saw  clearly  that 
the  final  cause  of  the  separation  of  the  "Cumberlands"  from  his 
church  was  an  unconstitutional  usurpation  of  a  presbytery's  rights. 
He  was  puzzled. 

When  he  met  the  missionaries  and  heard  them  preach  he  could 
find  nothing  to  condemn  in  their  doctrine  or  their  methods,  but 
was,  on  the  contrary,  fully  convinced  that  they  sought  only  God's 
glory,  and  would  never  harm  a  single  lamb  of  his  flock,  Morgan 
especially  won  him.  He  took  the  missionaries  to  his  own  house 
and  joined  his  session  in  inviting  them  to  preach  in  his  church. 
He  gives  us  a  full  account  of  the  meeting  which  they  proceeded 


286  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  iii. 

to  hold,  and  mentions  some  gray-headed  infidels  who  wete  brought 
under  the  power  of  the  gospel.  After  the  camp-meeting,  in  which 
Mr.  Lindley  cooperated,  the  missionaries  held  a  second  series  of 
meetings  in  his  church,  in  which  there  were  nearly  a  hundred  con- 
verts. 

When  Mr.  Lindley  went  to  the  meeting  of  his  presbytery  that 
fall  he  took  Mr.  Morgan  with  him.  The  presb)'tery  gave  him  and 
Morgan  both  the  "cold  shoulder."  When  ministerial  reports  were 
called  for,  Mr.  Lindley  was  questioned  ver>'  closely  about  his  coop- 
eration with  "excommunicated  heretics."  When  he,  in  his  an- 
swers, quoted  a  passage  from  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  Confes- 
sion of  Faith,  the  moderator  stopped  him,  saying,  "They  have  no 
Confession  of  Faith,  but  denounce  all  such  things."  Mr.  Lindley 
produced  a  copy,  greatly  to  the  moderator's  confusion.  When 
attention  was  called  to  the  action  of  the  Presbyterian  General 
Assembly  of  1825,  in  which  intercourse  with  Cumberland  Presby- 
terians was  placed  on  the  same  footing  as  intercourse  with  other 
evangelical  denominations,  the  moderator  and  the  members  gen- 
erally denied  that  there  had  ever  been  any  such  action.  Mr.  Lind- 
ley then  produced  the  Minutes  of  that  Assembly,  and  had  the  words 
referring  to  this  subject  read.  The  moderator  said  he  felt  it 
to  be  the  duty  of  all  good  Presbyterians  to  scout  those  heretical 
fanatics  from  the  face  of  the  earth.  The  presb}tery  then  passed 
an  order  directing  "the  session  of  Upper  Ten  IVIile  congregation  to 
close  the  doors  against  Cumberland  preachers."  A  committee  was 
also  appointed  to  visit  this  congregation  with  a  view  to  bringing  it 
to  order. 

Mr.  Lindley  says  he  still  had  not  formed  the  purpose  of  joining 
the  Cumberland  Presbyterians,  but  was  in  favor  of  appealing  to 
higher  courts,  feeling  sure  that  the  General  Assembly  would  set 
matters  right.  The  course  pursued  by  the  committee  which  vis- 
ited his  church,  taken  in  connection  with  the  fact  that  there  were 
among  his  people  many  anxious  inquirers  after  salvation,  finally 
led  both  him  and  his  congregation  to  go  together  into  the  Cum- 
berland Presbyterian  church.  That  church  is  now  called  Bethel. 
The  fruit  of  its  Presbyterian  training  is  still  seen  in  Bethel  congre- 
gation, as  also  in  Concord.     They  keep  a  pastor,   and  pay  him. 


Chapter  XXVII.]  PENNSYLVANIA.  28/ 

But  they  show  also  the  true  revival  spirit  which  belonged  to  Mor- 
gan and  Chapman.  Old  Presbyterian  training,  grafted  on  Cum- 
berland Presbyterian  zeal,  makes  the  very  best  church  members. 
Pennsylvania  and  Ohio  furnish  examples  of  our  noblest  congrega- 
tions.    These  are,  all  of  them,  of  Presbyterian  antecedents. 

Jacob  Lindley  found  in  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  Church 
his  own  sphere  of  usefulness,  and  he  worked  among  the  people 
with  marked  success  until  the  day  of  his  death.  The  second  wife 
of  the  Rev.  Robert  Donnell  was  his  daughter.  Dear  '  'Aunt  Clara, ' ' 
loved  by  many  in  all  parts  of  the  church,  sought  by  the  young 
people  for  her  genial  company,  sought  by  true  Christians  for  her 
holy  counsels,  sought  by  ministers  for  her  wide  knowledge  of 
church  affairs,  has  bequeathed  a  sacredness  to  the  name  of  Athens, 
Alabama,  where  she  lived  and  died,  and  has  left  a  pattern  from 
which  Christian  womanhood  may  take  many  a  lesson.  Mr.  L/ind- 
ley's  other  daughters  were  all  noble  Christian  women.  His  son 
went  to  Africa  as  missionary.  Mr.  Lindley' s  book  called,  "Infant 
Philosophy,"  is  a  valuable  treatise  on  the  right  mode  of  training 
children.     It  ought  to  be  republished. 

The  church  at  Carmichaels,  organized  August  20,  1832,  has 
ever  been  one  of  the  most  active  of  our  congregations.  Greene 
Academy,  the  first  Cumberland  Presbyterian  church  school  in 
Pennsylvania,  was  located  there.  This  congregation  has  from  the 
first  kept  its  own  pastor.  It  has  done  much  for  missions,  and  is 
still  liberal  in  its  gifts  for  this  purpose.  An  exceptionally  long 
pastorate,  for  Cumberland  Presbyterians,  was  that  of  the  Rev.  I.  N. 
Carey.     He  served  this  congregation  for  sixteen  years. 

The  missionaries  who  remained  in  Pennsylvania  soon  had 
encouraging  intimations  of  accessions  to  their  force,  and  they 
went  on  organizing  churches  all  through  the  western  part  of  the 
State.  Uniontown  was  one  of  these  pioneer  congregations.  It 
was  a  sort  of  mother  of  churches.  It  still  flourishes.  The  dust 
of  John  Morgan  sleeps  there.  A  college,  once  under  the  control 
of  our  people  but  never  owned  by  them,  was  located  there.  Many 
of  our  good  men  have  served  that  church  as  pastor. 

Rev.  J.  T.  A.  Henderson'  relates  the  following  incident  which 

'  Henderson's  MS.  autobiography. 


288  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  in. 

occurred  while  he  was  serving  as  pastor  here:  He  frequently  visited 
in  the  home  of  an  infidel  whose  family  attended  the  church.  This 
man  would  leave  the  house  whenever  he  saw  the  preacher  coming, 
but  finally  his  poor  health  made  it  necessary  for  him  to  stay  in  the 
room  during  these  visits.  The  preacher  came  and  went  several 
times  without  saying  any  thing  to  him  on  religious  subjects,  but  at 
last  ventured  to  ask  him  his  views.  The  reply  was  that  there  was 
no  truth  in  Christianity.  The  Bible,  he  said,  was  full  of  contra- 
dictions. Tom  Paine  had  proved  that  abundantly.  Mr.  Hender- 
son asked  him  to  point  out  some  of  these  contradictions.  He  re- 
plied that  he  would  hunt  them  up  and  show  them  at  the  preacher's 
next  visit.  The  next  visit  came  and  the  contradictions  had  not 
yet  been  found.  The  man  was  confident,  however,  that  he  would 
find  them  by  the  time  the  preacher  came  again.  At  the  next  visit 
the  preacher  asked  him  if  he  had  yet  found  them.  He  said  he  had 
not,  but  he  had  found  out  that  the  Bible  was  a  searcher  of  men's 
hearts  and  lives.  It  had  shown  him  that  he  was  a  miserable,  lost 
sinner.  He  was  sure  now  that  the  book  was  from  God.  In  a 
short  time  this  man  became  an  earnest  Christian. 

This  account  is  given  of  the  origin  of  Hopewell  congregation, 
Fayette  County.  The  Methodists  had  a  church  named  Hopewell, 
and  they  invited  the  missionaries  to  preach  there.  Bryan  and 
Bird  sent  an  appointment,  and  great  multitudes  attended.  The 
pastor  of  a  neighboring  Presbyterian  congregation  was  present,  but 
refused  to  be  introduced  to  the  missionaries.  Several  sermons 
were  preached,  and  very  pressing  invitations  were  given  the  mis- 
sionaries to  make  another  visit.  In  about  six  weeks  two  of  them 
came  back,  and  their  preaching  was  so  popular  that  the  Presby- 
terian elders  felt  constrained,  by  public  opinion,  to  invite  them 
to  preach  in  their  church.  When  the  hour  came  for  this  ser\'ice 
in  the  Presbyterian  church  the  pastor  took  a  back  seat  and  still 
refused  to  be  introduced  to  the  visiting  preachers.  After  some 
moments  of  painful  suspense,  Aaron  Baird,  uncle  of  A.  J.  Baird, 
whispered  to  one  of  the  missionaries,  ' '  you  had  as  well  be  killed 
for  an  old  sheep  as  a  lamb.  Knock  all  the  hard  points  of  Calvin- 
ism to  pieces  to-day."  Then  Mr.  Ebenezer  Finley,  one  of  the 
elders,  took  Mr.  Bryan  by  the  arm  and  led  him  to  the  pulpit,  and 


Chapter  XXVII.]  PENNSYLVANIA.  289 

placing  a  silver  dollar  in  the  preacher's  hand  said,  "We  want  you 
to  preach  your  own  doctrine  to-day  and  not  feel  the  least  restraint 
about  it. ' '  An  old  man,  describing  that  sermon  many  years  after- 
ward, said  that  although  he  had  been  reared  a  "Seceder"  of  the 
straitest  pattern,  he  was  fully  convinced  before  Bryan  closed  that 
discourse,  that  Christ  died  for  ever}'  man.  In  a  short  time  the  mis- 
sionaries were  urged  by  the  new  converts  to  organize  a  church  in 
that  neighborhood.  This  was  done;  and,  in  honor  of  the  liber- 
ality of  the  Methodist  Hopewell,  the  new  Cumberland  Presby- 
terian church  was  named  Hopewell  also. 

The  Rev.  J.  T.  A.  Henderson,  who  served  as  pastor  of  the 
Hopewell  church  for  many  years,  states  in  his  manuscript  auto- 
biography that  his  relations  with  this  congregation  were  ever 
pleasant,  and  all  his  salary  was  promptly  paid.  He  names,  also, 
some  men  in  this  and  the  Salem  congregation  who,  he  says,  were 
the  purest  men  and  the  best  Christians  he  ever  knew.  This  he 
writes  after  a  sojourn  on  earth  of  over  eighty  years. 

While  the  revival  in  which  the  Hopewell  church  had  its  origin 
was  in  progress,  the  missionaries  were  invited  to  hold  meetings  in 
the  neighboring  town  of  Brownsville.  Bryan  and  Bird  accepted 
the  invitation,  and  spent  two  days  there.  Bird  preached  in  the 
forenoon  of  the  first  day  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church;  Bryan 
preached  in  the  evening.  Crowds  of  people  left  their  work  to 
attend  the  services.  A  large  number  of  penitents  crowded  the 
altar.  The  next  day  the  services  were  held  in  the  Episcopal 
church.  During  these  two  days  many  of  the  leading  people  of 
the  town  professed  faith  in  Christ.  No  effort,  however,  was  made 
to  organize  a  congregation.  The  Cumberland  Presbyterian  church 
at  this  place  was  not  organized  until  more  than  twelve  years  after- 
ward, September,  1844. 

In  his  missionary  work,  the  Rev.  A.  M.  Bryan  ^  visited  Mead- 
ville,  Pennsylvania,  to  hold  meetings.  Not  only  were  the  churches 
and  other  public  buildings  closed  against  him,  but  the  Presby- 
terian minister  and  some  others  canvassed  the  town  from  house 
to  house  to  persuade  the  people  not  to  give  the  *' heretic"  a  hear- 
ing.    They  denied  that  Bryan  had  any  right  to  preach  or  hold 

'The  church  paper,  February  12,  1833 
19 


290  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  iii. 

services.      Not   at   all    moved   by    such    opposition,    he   held   his 
meetings,  partly    on   the   streets,  and   partly  in  a  private  house. 
There  were  a  great  multitude  of  conversions,  and  Bryan  organized 
a  church  with   ninety-three   members.     Unfortunately,  however 
there  was  no  preacher  to  place  in  charge  of  such  a  flock. 

The  Pittsburg  church  was  organized  by  the  missionaries  in 
1833,  John  Morgan  officiating.  The  Rev.  A.  M.  Bryan  spent  the 
best  part  of  his  life  as  pastor  of  this  church.  His  ashes  sleep 
there.  From  time  to  time  Mr.  Bryan  reported  in  the  church 
papers  interesting  revivals  in  his  congregation.  At  one  of  these 
there  were  two  hundred  converts.  If  it  be  true  that  the  poet  is 
born,  not  made,  it  is  equally  true  that  A.  M.  Bryan  was  born  a 
preacher  and  not  made  one.  It  is  wonderful  how  any  man,  with 
no  broad  scholarship,  could  have  had  the  pure  style,  the  clear 
thoughts,  the  fme  resources  which  Dr.  Br}'an  always  had  in  the 
pulpit. 

An  anecdote,  which  still  lingers  about  the  home  of  Bryan's 
boyhood,  is  pertinent  in  this  connection.  When,  as  a  candidate 
for  the  ministry,  he  was  called  on  for  his  first  trial  discourse,  he 
stated  that  he  had  no  sermon,  that  he  could  not  write  one.  That 
was  in  the  days  of  authority,  and  the  brows  of  the  grave  fathers 
portended  a  storm.  It  was  expected  that  the  boy  would  be  treated 
as  the  sailors  treated  Jonah.  Before  the  fatal  vote  was  taken,  his 
mother,  who  sat  looking  on  with  alarm,  said  to  one  of  the 
preachers,  "I  tell  you  the  boy  can  preach  if  he  can't  write.  Ap- 
point a  time  and  hear  him  try."  It  is  said  that  the  appointment 
was  made,  and  the  boy  preached  with  such  earnestness  and  fervor 
as  to  make  all  the  reverend  ecclesiastics  weep.  So  he  was  retained 
on  the  roll  of  candidates.  From  that  day  to  the  day  of  his  death 
A.  M.  Br>'an  never  lost  his  power  to  move  the  hearts  of  all  his 
hearers,  old  or  ^S'oung,  lay  or  clerical.  The  Pittsburg  church  was 
his  life's  best  work. 

When  the  Pennsylvania  Presbyter}^  met  in  October,  1833,  it 
had  twelve  ordained  ministers,  three  licensed  preachers,  and  seven 
candidates.  It  had  seventeen  congregations  and  two  thousand 
eight  hundred  members.  Every  preacher  belonging  to  the  presby- 
tery was  then  "living  of  the  gospel."     The  records  of  no  other 


Chapter  XXVII.]  PENNSYI.VANIA.  29I 

presbytery  in  the  church  furnish  an  instance  like  this.  In  the 
minutes  of  some  of  the  presbyteries  the  record  might  be  truthfully 
made  that  none  of  their  preachers  have  ever  lived  of  the  gospel. 

On  the  17th  day  of  October,  1841,  in  the  thirty-sixth  year 
of  his  age,  and  the  fourteenth  of  his  ministry-,  the  Rev.  John 
Morgan  passed  through  the  golden  gates  to  his  Father's  house. 
Of  his  work  in  Pennsylvania,  Dr.  Bird  says  "he  traveled  through 
the  country  like  a  flame  of  fire. ' '  Aged  Christians  who  were  con- 
verted under  Mr.  Morgan's  first  preaching  in  Alabama,  still  live 
and  hold  his  memory  in  a  reverence  as  sacred  even  as  that  felt  for 
him  in  Pennsylvania.  To  the  young  churches  in  Pennsylvania 
the  death  of  Morgan  seemed  an  irreparable  loss,  but  the  great 
Father  still  led  them  on.  Other  good  preachers  were  raised  up, 
but  among  them  all  there  was  no  other  John  Morgan.  It  was  in 
1840  that  Mr.  Morgan  began  the  publication  of  The  Utiion  and 
Evangelist^  at  Uniontown,  Pennsylvania.  It  was  a  valuable  little 
semi-monthly  paper,  but  before  he  had  been  long  in  that  work  he 
received  his  summons  from  the  King.  After  his  death  the  Rev. 
Milton  Bird  took  charge  of  the  paper. 

At  the  close  of  this  period  Cumberland  Presbyterians  had  two 
presbyteries  in  this  State.  This  was  the  growth  in  ten  years.  The 
Union  Presbytery  was  organized  at  Uniontown,  Pennsylvania, 
April  14,  1837,  the  Rev.  John  Morgan  being  the  first  moderator. 
The  Pennsylvania  Synod,  which  was  at  first  made  up  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, Union,  and  Athens  presbyteries,  was  organized  at  Union- 
town,  October  11,  1838.  Allegheny  Presbytery  was  not  formed 
until  1847.  In  mission  work  and  in  sustaining  regular  pastorates 
these  Pennsylvania  churches  rank  among  the  first  in  the  denom- 
ination. They  had  to  work  throughout  this  first  decade  like 
Nehemiah's  builders  on  the  wall,  sword  in  one  hand  and  building 
implements  in  the  other.  Those  who  assailed  them  were,  how- 
ever, the  losers  by  this  policy.  Various  slanderous  misrepresen- 
tations of  the  doctrines  and  practices  of  Cumberland  Presbyterians 
were  published  in  Pittsburg  during  this  period.  That  they  were 
slanderous  was  triumphantly  proved  then,  and  there  is  no  need  of 
reviving  the  old  bitterness. 


293  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  in. 


CHAPTER   XXVIII. 


ORIGIN  OF  OUR  CHURCH  IN  OHIO. 

"And  a  little  picture  shall  meet  the  eye, 
That  dear  hands  painted  in  years  gone  by." 

—6".  G.  Prout. 

THE  same  agents  of  the  church  "college  who  were  the  first 
Cumberland  Presbyterian  preachers  in  Pennsylvania  also 
traveled  through  portions  of  Ohio  in  1829  ^^^  ^^3^  holding  meet- 
ings and  soliciting  help  for  the  college.  We  have  no  history  of 
their  work  except  the  general  fact  that  their  meetings  often  resulted 
in  many  conversions.  It  is  known,  also,  that  they  did  not,  during 
this  tour,  attempt  to  organize  any  Cumberland  Presb}-terian  church. 

The  first  Presbyterian  church  at  Athens,  Ohio,  was  organized 
by  the  Rev.  Jacob  Lindley.  The  college  over  which  Air.  Lindley 
long  presided  was  also  at  that  town.  His  interest  for  this  commu- 
nity was  so  great  that  he  entreated  Mr.  Morgan  to  visit  Athens 
while  on  his  way  South  in  1831,  promising  to  accompany  him 
thither.  To  this  Morgan  agreed.  They  both  met  a  warm  welcome 
from  the  Presbyterian  church  at  Athens,  and  also  from  its  pastor, 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Spaulding.  Mr.  Lindley  speaks  in  strong  terms  of 
Mr.  Spaulding' s  liberality.'  Mr.  Morgan  tarried  nine  days,  and 
preached  eighteen  sermons.  Although  it  was  winter,  and  bitter 
cold,  the  house  was  crowded,  and  there  were  forty-three  profes- 
sions.^ Here  again,  as  Mr.  Lindley  testifies,  Morgan  resisted  the 
young  converts  who  wanted  to  be  organized  into  a  Cumberland 
Presbyterian  church. 

Before  Mr.  Morgan's  departure,  pastor  and  people  united  in  im- 
portuning him  to  come  by  Athens  when  he  returned  to  Pennsyl- 
vania in  the  spring.  He  gave  his  promise,  and  kept  it,  too;  but 
on  his  arrival  he  found  a  very  great  change.     Mr.  Spaulding  called 

'  Lindley's  MS.  autobiography,  from  which  this  whole  account  is  taken. 
■Fifteen  of  these  afterward  entered  the  ministry. 


Chapter  XXVIII.]  OhIO.  293 

on  him  and  told  him  with  deep  mortification  and  sincere  regret 
that  his  session  had  become  alarmed  at  the  outcry  for  a  Cumber- 
land Presbyterian  church,  and  had  resolved  to  close  their  doors 
against  Morgan.  A  leading  layman  in  the  Presbyterian  church 
then  informed  Mr.  Morgan  that  the  members  of  his  church  had 
secured  the  court-house  for  him  to  preach  in.  It  was  evident  that 
a  movement  was  on  foot  among  these  members  to  secede  and  join 
the  Cumberland  Presbyterians.  Mr.  Morgan  at  once  declined  to 
preach  for  them.  He  was  then  invited  to  preach  in  the  Methodist 
church,  which  he  did,  and  nearly  all  of  the  Presbyterians  attended. 
At  the  close  of  his  sermon  that  Sabbath,  he  was  requested  to 
attend  a  temperance  meeting  ten  miles  from  Athens.  To  this 
request  he  acceded.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Hibbard,  a  Presbyterian,  whose 
church  was  six  miles  distant  from  Athens,  also  obtained  a  promise 
from  Mr.  Morgan  that  he  would  attend  his  sacramental  meeting, 
which  was  to  be  held  the  next  Sabbath.  Morgan  left  Athens 
Monday  and  held  his  temperance  meeting  in  a  grove.  An  im- 
mense concourse  of  people  was  gathered.  A  new  distillery  owned 
by  two  brothers  was  situated  right  at  the  place  where  this  meeting 
was  held.  The  lecture,  though  on  temperance,  w^as  all  of  it  in- 
tensely religious.  The  vast  crowd  was  in  tears,  and  Morgan,  at 
the  close  of  the  lecture,  called  mourners.  Many  came.  He  ap- 
pointed preaching  for  the  next  day  on  the  same  spot.  Before  he 
closed  the  meeting  one  of  the  owners  of  the  distillery  and  the 
wives  of  both  of  them  were  converted.  The  distillery  was  forever 
closed.  O  the  power  of  God's  Spirit  is  the  true  source  of  victory 
against  rum  and  all  other  works  of  Satan.  Instead  of  the  distillery 
there  arose  a  house  of  worship  in  a  community  where  there  had 
never  been  one  before. 

At  the  meetings  in  Mr.  Hibbard' s  church  the  usual  blessing  of 
Heaven  followed  Mr.  Morgan's  preaching.  About  seventy  souls 
professed  to  be  saved.  Mr.  Morgan  had  some  difficulty  in  convinc- 
ing the  young  converts  that  no  Cumberland  Presbyterian  church 
could  be  organized  for  them.  After  he  went  on  to  Pennsylvania  a 
large  number  of  people  who  had  attended  the  two  meetings  just 
described,  wrote  to  him  to  come  back  and  hold  a  camp-meeting. 
This  he  did,  Mr.  Lindley  and  his  daughter  accompanying  him. 


294  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  in. 

This  camp-meeting  was  held  in  Alexander  township,  six  miles 
from  Athens.  It  was  here  that  the  first  Cumberland  Presbyterian 
church  in  Ohio  was  organized.  At  this  camp-meeting  the  Rev. 
Mr.  McAboy,  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  saw  his  two  sons  con- 
verted. They  both  entered  the  ministry  afterward,  and  their  father 
from  that  camp-meeting  till  the  day  of  his  death,  without  chang- 
ing his  ecclesiastical  relations  or  having  any  charges  preferred 
against  him,  not  only  adopted  Cumberland  Presbyterian  measures, 
but  preached  Cumberland  Presbyterian  doctrines.  His  ministry 
was  far  more  fruitful  after  he  made  these  changes."  This  first 
Ohio  camp-meeting  was  prolific  in  its  results.  There  were  over  a 
hundred  conversions,  and  calls  for  Morgan's  and  Lindley's  sen- ices 
poured  in  upon  them  from  all  the  adjacent  counties.  Mr.  Lind- 
ley  relates  several  touching  incidents  of  this  camp-meeting.  A 
certain  militia  captain,  who  was  also  dissipated,  conspired  with  a 
number  of  rough  men  to  break  up  the  meeting.  They  entered 
into  a  regular  organization  for  this  purpose,  and  elected  this  militia 
officer  as  captain  of  their  band.  At  the  hour  for  services  these 
men  gathered  under  the  trees  near  the  place  of  worship.  ]\Ir.  ]\Ior- 
gan,  before  he  began  his  sermon,  invited  penitents  to  come  for- 
ward. Many  Christian  people  rose  to  their  feet  and  went  out 
through  the  congregation  trying  to  persuade  their  relatives  to  go 
to  the  mourner's  bench.  While  this  was  going  on,  the  brother-in- 
law  of  "the  captain"  came  to  Mr.  Lindley  and  requested  him  to 
go  to  that  promoter  of  mischief  Mr.  Lindley  went,  accompanied 
by  the  brother-in-law.  On  seeing  those  Christians  approach  him, 
the  captain  straightened  himself  up  with  a  defiant  look.  Mr. 
Lindley  says  that  at  that  moment  his  own  soul  was  overwhelmed 
with  sympathy  and  an  awful  sense  of  this  poor  sinner's  perilous 
state.  So  great  were  his  emotions  that  utterance  failed  him,  and 
for  some  time  he  could  do  nothing  but  weep.  At  length,  finding 
the  use  of  his  tongue,  he  struggled  with  all  his  soul  to  warn  the 
poor  captain  of  his  danger.  Finally  the  hardened  sinner  burst 
into  tears,  fell  upon  Mr.  Lindley's  neck,  and  asked  that  his  wife 
should  be  brought.  When  she  arrived  she  also  burst  into  tears, 
and  soon  both  husband  and  wife  agreed  to  go  to  the  mourner's 

'Lindley's  MS. 


Chapter  XXVIII.]  OHIO.  295 

bench.  As  Mr.  Lindley  led  them  up  to  the  place  of  prayer  several 
of  the  gang  of  desperadoes  followed.  The  captain  had  a  hard 
struggle,  but  he  and  his  wife  both  found  peace  in  Jesus  before  the 
meetings  closed. 

Another  case  deserves  mention.  An  aged  infidel  attended  the 
meeting,  sitting  afar  off  and  watching.  Finally  his  favorite  son 
was  converted,  and  with  a  face  beaming  with  the  light  of  heaven, 
started  to  find  his  father.  When  the  old  man  saw  his  boy 
approaching,  and  looked  into  his  illumined  face  and  heard  his 
tender,  loving  appeals,  he  was  utterly  broken  down,  and,  falling  to 
the  earth,  began  crying  aloud  for  mercy.  Nor  were  his  cries  in 
vain.  After  some  delay,  and  after  a  beloved  minister  had  patiently 
instructed  him  in  the  way  of  salvation,  he  sprang  up  from  the 
ground  where  he  was  lying  and  told  to  all  around  what  a  glorious 
light  had  dawned  upon  his  soul. 

There  was  in  this  neighborhood  a  skeptic  of  unusual  bitterness 
toward  Christianity.  He  had  an  interesting  daughter  who  was 
very  anxious  to  attend  the  camp-meeting,  but  he  would  not  permit 
her  to  do  so.  Mr.  Lindley's  daughter,  Louisa,  who  had  accompa- 
nied her  father  to  this  community,  where  she  was  well  acquainted, 
visited  this  skeptic  with  a  view  to  gaining  permission  for  his  daugh- 
ter to  attend  the  camp-meeting.  After  many  failures  she  finally 
won  a  conditional  consent.  The  condition  was  that  Louisa  would 
solemnly  promise  him  that  his  daughter  should  not  go  to  the 
mourner's  bench.  The  promise  was  made,  and  the  young  lady 
attended.  Under  Morgan's  preaching  she  became  overwhelmingly 
convicted,  and  when  the  call  for  mourners  was  made  she  wanted  to 
go.  Louisa  went  to  Mr.  Morgan  for  counsel.  He  told  her  to  keep 
her  promise,  and  to  take  the  young  lady  off  to  some  private  place 
and  pray  with  her  there.  This  was  done,  and  in  a  few  moments 
the  poor  girl  was  rejoicing  in  the  hope  of  glory,  and  ever  afterward 
lived  a  consistent  Christian. 

When  a  church  was  organized,  at  the  close  of  this  meeting, 
a  congregation  of  Presbyterians  in  the  neighborhood,  who  were 
without  a  pastor,  formally  seceded  from  the  Presbyterians,  and  pro- 
posed to  unite  with  this  new  congregation.  Mr.  Lindley  received 
them,  and  became  their  temporary  pastor,  arranging  with  Mr.  Mor- 


396  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  iii. 

gau  to  take  care  of  Teu  Mile  until  some  permanent  arrangement 
could  be  made  for  the  Ohio  flock.  This  was  in  the  fall  of  1832. 
The  next  spring  Mr.  Lindley  returned  to  his  Pennsylvania  church. 
The  Pennsylvania  Presbytery  supplied  the  Ohio  congregations  with 
itinerant  preaching.  These  itinerants  were  changed  frequently. 
The  records  show  that  nearly  all  the  members  of  that  presbytery 
were  at  one  time  or  another  appointed  to  this  Ohio  work. 

Mr.  Lindley  had  been  pastor  of  the  Presbyterian  church  at  Bev- 
erly, Ohio,  before  he  took  charge  of  the  college  at  Athens.  On 
his  journey  to  his  home  in  Pennsylvania,  in  the  spring  of  1833, 
he  stopped  at  Beverly,  and  held  a  meeting.  Great  interest  was 
manifested  in  his  preaching,  and  fifty  persons  professed  conver- 
sion. The  Presbyterian  church  at  Beverly,  which  Mr.  Lindley  had 
organized  long  before,  was  at  this  time  without  a  pastor,  and  its 
members  passed  a  formal  act,  by  unanimous  vote,  withdrawing 
from  the  Presb}terian  church,  and  unanimously  resolved  to  join 
the  Cumberland  Presbyterians,  and  call  Mr.  Lindle}'  for  their  pas- 
tor. He  accepted  the  call,  and,  after  a  brief  visit  to  Pennsylvania, 
returned  to  Beverly,  where  he  spent  four  years  in  charge  of  his 
old  flock,  preaching,  as  his  elders  put  on  record,  the  very  same 
doctrines  which  he  had  preached  thirty  years  before. 

Mr.  Lindley  said  he  found  a  state  of  moral  death  in  all  the  coun- 
try surrounding  Beverly.  The  people  had  little  or  no  preaching, 
save  in  Marietta,  the  county  town.  Country  pulpits  were  all  va- 
cant, and  Sabbath-schools  had  been  abandoned.  He  therefore 
arranged  with  the  Beverly  church  to  be  allowed  to  spend  one 
fourth  of  his  time  as  missionar}'  to  the  surrounding  country.  With- 
in a  circle  of  thirty  miles  he  established  a  round  of  appointments 
for  preaching.  He  tried  to  do  pastoral  work  in  all  this  vast  dis- 
trict, asw^ell  as  to  preach  regularly.  He  passed  none  by,  calling  at 
great  houses  and  small.  He  says  his  sole  aim  was  the  salvation 
of  these  destitute  souls.  He  took  no  written  sermons.  He  went 
forth  with  his  Bible  and  with  a  loving  heart.  He  says  he  looks 
for  sheaves  from  many  a  humble  home  which  he  visited  in  this 
strange  field. 

In  these  missionary  tours  Mr.  Lindley  visited  Senecaville,  thirty 
miles  from  Beverly.    There  was  a  Presbyterian  church  there,  but  for 


Chapter  XXVIIL]  OhIO.  297 

a  long  time  it  had  been  without  preaching.  Mr.  Lindley  held  an 
eight  days'  meeting,  and  had  a  great  revival.  The  interest  stirred 
the  whole  country  for  fifteen  miles  around.  There  were  great 
numbers  of  conversions.  The  Lancaster  Presbytery  (Presbyte- 
rian), of  which  Mr.  Lindley  had  been  one  of  the  original  mem- 
bers, took  the  alarm.  Mr.  Lindley  sa}-s  all  the  members  of  this 
presbytery  had  the  same  false  views  about  the  identity  of  the  Cum- 
berland Presbyterians  and  the  New  Lights  which  he  himself  had 
before  he  investigated  the  matter.  Lancaster  Presbytery  sent  a 
man  to  Senecaville  to  warn  the  people  against  the  heretics.  But 
he  did  not  investigate  the  subject  before  commencing  the  battle. 
His  attacks  were  against  a  man  of  straw.  The  good  people  of  Sen- 
ecaville were  much  better  informed  about  the  Cumberland  Presby- 
terians than  he  was,  and  they  were  disgusted  at  his  ignorance  and 
offended  at  his  injustice.  The  members  of  that  congregation  felt 
themselves  outraged  by  the  severe  censures  poured  out  upon  them. 
They  met  together  and  formally  seceded  from  the  Presbyterian 
church,  and  declared  themselves  Cumberland  Presbyterians.  This 
was  in  the  summer  of  1835.  Mr.  Lindley  agreed  to  give  one  fourth 
of  his  time  to  this  church  until  better  provisions  could  be  made. 

His  first  meeting  under  this  new  arrangement  was  to  begin  on 
a  Friday.  It  happened  that  the  circus  was  to  be  there  that  day. 
The  gaudy  show  bills  covered  walls  and  fences.  The  show  arrived 
on  time.  The  great  tent  was  stretched,  the  brass  bands  played, 
flags  waved,  and  mottled  harlequins  danced  on  spotted  animals  as 
the  procession  nsoved  around  town.  But  the  door-keeper  vv^ho 
stood  at  the  entrance  of  the  tent  took  in  not  even  one  single  ticket. 
Mr.  Lindley  had  the  crowd.  After  a  little  delay  the  circus  tent 
was  taken  down,  and  managers  and  harlequins  went  on  their  way 
in  great  disgust,  cursing  Cumberland  Presbyterians. 

An  elder  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  near  the  village  of  Cum- 
berland, attended  the  great  revival  at  Senecaville.  He  earnestly 
pressed  Mr.  Lindley  to  hold  a  meeting  in  his  town.  This  elder 
said  the  church  at  Cumberland  was  in  a  state  of  spiritual  torpor. 
The  house  of  worship  was  out  of  town,  built  there  before  the  town 
existed.  Mr.  Lindley  sent  an  appointment  for  a  meeting  in  the 
town.     A  large  unfinished  dwelling-house,  whose  partitions  were 


298    '  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  in. 

not  yet  erected,  was  used  for  this  meeting.  God  revived  his  work. 
Many  souls  were  converted;  but  the  Presbyterian  pastor  stood  aloof 
and  opposed.  Mr.  Ivindley  visited  him,  and  tried  to  win  him,  but 
failed  to  elicit  the  slightest  expression  of  concern  for  the  salvation 
of  the  unconverted;  though  the  pastor  did  try  to  be  polite,  and 
played  the  violin  beautifully  for  the  entertainment  of  his  visitor. 
Other  engagements  calling  IMr.  Lindley  away,  he  sent  the  Rev. 
Isaac  Shook  to  Cumberland,  in  1835,  and  the  latter  organized  a' 
church  of  our  people  in  that  town. 

One  of  the  towns  in  which  the  Rev.  M.  H.  Bone  (one  of  the 
college  agents)  preached  was  Lebanon,  Ohio.  He  had  a  very 
interesting  meeting  there.  The  people  begged  him  to  remain  and 
organize  a  church.  This  he  could  not  then, do.  In  1835  he  was 
earnestly  importuned  by  letters  from  the  Lebanon  people  to 
return.  They  had  seen  and  learned  still  more  of  the  ways  and 
doctrines  of  the  Cumberland  Presb}'terians,  and  were  anxious  to  be 
identified  with  them.  Mr.  Bone,  therefore,  made  another  visit  to 
that  town.  A  congregation  was  organized,  and  he  consented  to  re- 
main one  year  as  their  pastor.  The  same  year  he  appointed  a  camp- 
meeting,  and  wrote  for  Hugh  B.  Hill  and  T.  C.  Anderson  to  assist 
him.^  They  both  lived  in  Tennessee,  but  they  responded  promptly 
to  Mr.  Bone's  appeal.  Owing  to  failure  in  boat  and  stage  connec- 
tions they  arrived  too  late  for  the  camp-meeting. 

Mr.  Bone  started  a  movement  for  building  a  meeting-house  at 
Lebanon,  but  for  some  reason  he  gave  up  his  charge  and  re- 
turned to  the  South.  Before  doing  so,  however,  he  obtained 
the  consent  of  the  Rev.  Felix  G.  Black  to  take  charge  of  the  little 
church.  Black  was  a  pastor  in  the  true  sense,  and  did  good  ser^-ice 
in  this  congregation.  From  eleven  original  members  the  church 
in  three  years  grew  to  one  hundred  and  thirt}'-eight.  This  growth 
was  all  under  systematic  and  steady  pastoral  work.  Mr.  Black,  in 
1838,  published  a  good  report  from  that  congregation,  showing  its 
progress  in  all  the  departments  of  its  work.  It  contributed  s\-stem- 
atically  to  all  the  benevolent  enterprises  of  the  church.  It  paid  its 
pastor's  salary  in  full,  and  was  spiritually  alive  and  active. 

The  old  church  bell  at  Lebanon  has  a  curious  histon,'.     When 

'  Manuscript  autobiography  of  T.  C.  Anderson. 


Chapter  XXVIII.]        -  OhIO.  299 

Spain  confiscated  tlie  property  of  the  convents  this  bell  was  sent  to 
New  York  and  sold  at  auction.  It  brought  two  hundred  dollars. 
It  was  cast  in  1636  for  a  convent.  It  was  the  first  church  bell  ever 
rung  in  Lebanon,  but  it  now  calls  not  nuns  but  Cumberland 
Presbyterians  together.  It  has  a  Spanish  inscription  upon  it  call- 
ing on  the  Virgin  to  ' '  pray  for  us. " 

In  1833  there  were  supplies  appointed  by  the  Pennsylvania 
Presbytery  for  two  Ohio  churches — Waterford  and  Athens.  In 
1834  supplies  were  appointed  for  four  Ohio  congregations — Athens, 
Alexander,  Waterford,  and  McConnellsburg.  The  Rev.  James 
Smith  and  the  Rev.  Joseph  A.  Copp,  made  a  preaching  tour 
through  that  State  in  the  winter  of  1833-4.  Smith  says  the 
Presbyterian  pulpits  were  everywhere  closed  against  them.  In  1835 
a  grand  forward  movement  was  made  by  Cumberland  Presbyterians 
in  Ohio.  The  Rev.  Isaac  Shook  spent  that  year  in  this  field.  T. 
C.  Anderson  and  Hugh  B.  Hill  were  also  there,  as  was  S.  M. 
Aston.  Three  or  four  of  the  ministers  of  Pennsylvania  Presby- 
tery were  also  working  part  of  their  time  in  this  field.  Aston  held 
a  good  meeting  at  Jacobsville,  and  organized  a  church  there. 

The  Covington  congregation  has  an  interesting  histoiy.  When 
the  Rev.  F.  G.  Black  succeeded  Mr.  Bone  as  pastor  at  Lebanon  he 
found  on  the  church-book  the  name  of  Benjamin  Leavell.  There 
was  no  such  man  living  in  Lebanon.  On  inquiry  he  learned  that 
this  was  Judge  Leavell,  who  lived  fifty  miles  away.  Owing  to  his 
dissatisfaction  with  the  hard  points  of  Calvinism  he  had  with- 
drawn from  the  Presbyterian  church  and  joined  the  Lebanon  con- 
gregation, there  being  no  other  Cumberland  Presbyterian  church 
nearer  his  home.  On  receiving  this  information,  Mr.  Black 
mounted  his  horse  and  started  on  a  pastoral  visit  fifty  miles.  He 
had  to  swim  one  canal  before  reaching  his  parishioner.  The  Judge 
told  Mr.  Black  that  before  he  heard  of  the  Cumberland  Presby- 
terians he  had  made  out  a  system  of  theology^  for  himself  On  a 
business  trip  to  Cincinnati  he  stopped  to  spend  the  Sabbath  at 
Lebanon.  Bone  and  others  were  holding  a  meeting  there.  He 
went  to  hear  them.  To  his  surprise  and  delight  they  preached  his 
system  of  doctrine,  a  medium  system  between  Calvinism  and 
Arminianism.     He  therefore  joined  the  new  church.     Then  the 


300  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  iii. 

Judge  told  his  pastor  about  a  town  called  "  Rowdy,"  noted  for  its 
drunkenness  and  other  vices,  and  induced  him  to  visit  the  place 
and  hold  a  meeting.  The  first  services  were  in  a  little  school- 
house.  Other  visits  followed,  and  finally  in  1838,  Mr.  Black 
organized  a  congregation.  "Rowdy"  is  now  Covington.  The 
church  there  to-day  numbers  four  hundred  and  nineteen  members. 
It  contributed  to  church  enterprises  last  year  (1885)  ten  thousand 
dollars.  It  keeps  a  regular  pastor.  Two  faithful  ministers  have 
grown  up  among  its  members,  the  Rev.  W.  H.  Black,  of  St.  Louis, 
and  the  Rev.  J.  A.  Billingsley.  It  has  just  built  an  elegant  house 
of  worship,  and  it  maintains  a  high  standing  for  liberality  and 
efficiency  in  church  work. 

The  Cumberland  Presbyterian  church  in  Ohio  has  never  been 
strong  in  numbers.  There  are  at  this  time  (1886)  only  three  pres- 
byteries in  the  State;  one  with  eight  ordained  ministers  and  no 
candidates,  another  with  five  ordained  ministers  and  one  candidate, 
and  a  third  with  four  ministers  and  no  candidate.  Preaching  on  a 
call  to  the  ministry,  and  praying  the  great  Head  of  the  church  to 
call  their  oiun  sons  to  this  holy  work,  are  clearly  the  urgent  duties 
of  our  Ohio  ministry  and  people.  A  home  supply  of  preachers  and 
provisions  for  their  education,  would  certainly  improve  the  pros- 
pect of  the  church  in  that  State.  In  this  field,  as  well  as  several 
others,  we  have  this  strange  phenomenon:  IMuch  larger  donations 
have  been  made  by  some  of  our  own  members  to  the  colleges  of 
other  churches  than  have  ever  been  made  to  our  own  institutions. 


Chapter  XXIX.]  MISCELLANEOUS   SKETCHES.  3OI 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 


MISCELLANEOUS    SKETCHES   AND   INCIDENTS. 

"  There  is  no  wind  but  soweth  seeds 
Of  a  more  true  and  holj  Hfe, 
Which  bursts,  unlocked  for,  into  high-souled  deeds, 
With  wayside  beauties  rife." 

AN  account  of  the  great  revival  at  Bowling  Green,  Kentucky, 
deserves  a  place  at  the  beginning  of  this  chapter  of  miscel- 
laneous sketches.  There  was  no  Cumberland  Presbyterian  church 
at  Bowling  Green  in  1833,  and  the  presbytery  refused  to  organize 
one,  even  when  pressed  to  do  so,  because  no  preacher  could  be 
spared  from  the  itinerant  work  and  located  there;  and  it  was  under- 
stood that  a  church  in  a  large  town  could  not  be  sustained  by  itin- 
erant preaching.  Some  of  the  preachers  were  willing,  however,  to  - 
hold  a  meeting  there  for  the  sake  of  souls;  but  it  was  announced 
beforehand  that  they  would  attempt  no  organization.  Chapman, 
Lowry,  Harris,  and  Lewis  began  meetings  in  the  First  Baptist 
church.  Lowry  did  most  of  the  preaching.  By  Monday  the 
whole  town  was  so  stirred  that  shops,  business  houses,  and  law 
offices  were  spontaneously  closed  for  each  service.  There  were 
three  services  a  day.  At  these  meetings  some  strange  results,  sim- 
ilar to  those  which  so  startled  the  people  of  Logan  County,  Ken- 
tucky, in  1799,  manifested  themselves.  Men  of  strong  frames 
fell  to  the  ground  and  lay  motionless  for  hours.  One  man  was 
carried  out  and  his  friends  sent  for  a  physician.  Mr.  Lowry,  how- 
ever, told  them  that  he  had  seen  many  such  cases  and  never  knew 
any  dangerous  consequences  to  result.  After  a  long  delay  the  man 
rose  with  rapturous  exclamations  of  joy  and  trust.  An  infidel 
attended  this  meeting  and  was  seized  with  deep  convictions.  He 
went  to  the  mourner's  bench  and  offered  up  this  prayer:  "If  there 
be  any  such  person  as  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  I  want  him  to  have 
mercy  on  me,  and  save  me."     He  at  last  found  the  Savior. 


302  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  iii. 

These  meetings  continued  seventeen  days,  and  their  influence 
swept  over  all  the  town  and  the  surrounding  country.  All  the 
Bowling  Green  churches  received  many  valuable  members.  Mr. 
lyowry  was  urged  to  organize  a  Cumberland  Presbyterian  church, 
but  as  he  steadfastly  adhered  to  his  refusal  many  who  would  have 
entered  into  such  an  organization  went  into  other  churches.  The 
now  venerable  Judge  Burnum,  of  Bowling  Green,  was  one  of  the 
converts  at  this  meeting.  The  father  of  the  Rev.  J.  M.  Halsell 
was  also  among  the  converts. 

The  Rev.  J.  B.  McCallan,  of  Illinois,  relates  the  following 
incident:  In  1833  he  was  living  in  Calloway  County,  Kentucky. 
No  religious  services  were  held  in  all  his  neighborhood.  He  and 
his  wife  were  both  unconverted.  A  camp-meeting  was  to  be  held 
ten  miles  away.  He  and  his  wife  both  attended,  walking  all  the 
way,  and  both  were  converted.  On  their  return  home  they  set  up 
the  family  altar.  Then  Mr.  McCallan  began  holding  prayer-meet- 
ings in  the  neighborhood.  A  revival  soon  followed  with  numerous 
conversions.  Then  circuit  riders  were  induced  to  make  resfular 
appointments  for  preaching  in  that  neighborhood.  In  a  short 
time  the  character  of  the  whole  community  was  changed.  C.  E. 
Hay  was  the  first  circuit  rider  who  preached  there,  and  he 
organized  a  congregation  and  ordained  Mr.  McCallan  as  one  of 
its  elders. 

A  fair  sample  of  the  best  Cumberland  Presbyterian  churches 
tinder  the  old  supply  system  was  the  Concord  congregation.  West 
Tennessee.  The  boundaries  of  this  congregation  extended  from 
Trenton,  Tennessee,  to  the  Mississippi  River — sixty  miles.  The 
Rev.  S.  Y.  Thomas  was  its  preacher.  His  financial  necessities 
once  caused  him  to  change  his  field,  but  the  Concord  people  loved 
him,  and  they  wrote  to  him  proposing  to  give  him  a  deed  to  four 
hundred  acres  of  good  land  if  he  would  come  back  and  stay  with 
them,  and  preach  regularly  one  Sabbath  in  each  month.  He 
accepted  the  oflfer.  Including  his  work  before  this  arrangement 
was  made,  he  serv^ed  this  church  thirty-nine  years,  farming  and 
preaching.  A  number  of  ministers  have  grown  up  in  this  congre- 
gation, among  them  several  members  of  the  Thomas  family.  Its 
camp-meetings  were  great  occasions,  and  people  attended  from  all 


Chapter  XXIX. ]  MISCELLANEOUS   SKETCHES.  303 

parts  of  West  Tenuessee.  Converts  of  these  camp-meetings  are 
found  in  all  parts  of  the  church. 

The  Oak  Grove  congregation,  Sumner  County,  Tennessee, 
organized  1836,  which  had  Hugh  B.  Hill  for  its  regular  pastor, 
long  kept  up  its  annual  camp-meetings.  At  one  of  these  one  hun- 
dred and  seventy-five  conversions  were  reported,  and  at  another 
three  hundred.  At  the  camp-meeting  held  in  1840,  Robert  Don- 
nell  and  several  other  ministers  from  a  distance  were  assisting.  Of 
course  the  pastor  did  not  expect  to  preach.  Mr.  Hill's  father-in- 
law,  then  quite  old,  was  not  a  Christian,  and  several  members  of 
his  very  large  family  were  also  unconverted.  After  the  meetings 
had  continued  several  days,  Mrs.  Hill  saw  her  husband  come  into 
the  tent  "pale  as  a  sheet,"  and  evidently  in  some  deep  soul-strug- 
gle. She  went  to  him  and  asked  what  it  was  that  troubled  him; 
but  he  begged  her  to  leave  him  alone,  and  fell  upon  the  bed  groan- 
ing. Mrs.  Hill  inquired  of  others,  and  learned  that  her  father  and 
another  very  old  gentleman,  both  unconverted,  had  sent  a  special 
request  for  Mr.  Hill  to  preach  at  the  next  service.  Mr.  Hill  re- 
mained lying  on  his  face  till  the  hour  for  service,  and  then  went  to 
the  pulpit.  The  two  old  men  who  had  made  the  request  sat  in 
front  near  the  pulpit.  The  realities  of  the  eternal  world  were  face 
to  face  with  the  preacher.  Something  more  than  that  was  with 
him.  God's  irresistible  Spirit  breathed  through  his  lips  and  quiv- 
ered in  his  words.  Hill  always  had  a  holy  power  in  the  pulpit, 
but  this  sermon,  it  is  said,  surpassed  all  his  other  efforts.  The  two 
old  men,  both  past  their  threescore  and  ten,  were  brought  into  the 
joyous  liberty  of  the  sons  of  God.     So,  too,  were  many  others." 

Hill  devoted  the  whole  of  his  life  to  the  ministry,  and  owing  to 
the  meagerness  of  his  salary  and  misfortunes  brought  on  by  the 
war,  he  died  in  comparative  poverty.  Loving  friends  erected  a 
monument  over  his  grave,  near  Murfreesboro,  Tennessee.  The 
Middle  Tennessee  Synod,  while  in  session  at  Murfreesboro  soon 
after  his  death,  held  a  memorial  service  at  his  grave.  Hill's  life 
was  the  text  for  an  address  on  consecration  in  the  ministry  by 
Dr.  A.  J.  Baird.  The  Rev.  M.  H.  Bone,  the  life-long  associate  of 
Hill,  said  in  the  obituary  notice  which  he  published:  "I  never 

*  Facts  furnished  by  Mr.  Hill's  daughter. 


304  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  iii. 

knew  Hill  to  utter  a  sentence  which  I  wished  unsaid,  or  to  do  a 
deed  which  I  wished  undone." 

In  the  autobiography  of  the  Rev.  Isaac  Shook  is  recorded  a 
notice  of  the  "stars  falling"  in  1833,  which  is  worth  quoting. 
Shook  was  holding  meetings  in  Huntsville,  Alabama,  and  there 
was  considerable  interest  in  the  services.  One  morning  at  early- 
dawn  he  was  awakened  by  sounds  of  shouting  and  pra)-er  over  all 
the  town.  He  rose  and  dressed  himself,  and  on  going  out  discov- 
ered the  whole  horizon  ablaze  with  what  seemed  to  be  stars  falling. 
Advent  teachers  had  been  through  the  country-  proclaiming  the 
speedy  end  of  the  world,  and  this  looked  very  much  like  the 
accomplishment  of  their  proclamation.  All  over  town  negroes 
and  white  people,  too,  were  either  praying  or  shouting.  It  was 
five  o'clock  in  the  morning.  Presently  the  church  bell  began  to 
ring,  and  soon  the  house  was  filled  with  people.  When  Shook 
entered  he  found  nearly  a  hundred  unconverted  men  and  women 
on  their  knees,  pouring  out  earnest  prayers  to  God  for  pardon 
and  salvation.  It  is  a  curious  fact  that  there  were  no  conversions 
among  all  that  number  of  frightened  mourners.  The  meeting, 
however,  continued  many  days  with  good  results,  not  from  the 
fright,  but  from  the  blessed  gospel  of  the  Son  of  God. 

The  28th  of  October,  1834,  a  meeting  of  the  Cumberland  Pres- 
byterians of  Washington  County,  Arkansas,  was  held  in  the  Cane 
Hill  meeting-house  for  the  purpose  of  taking  the  necessary  steps  to 
establish  a  school.  This  was  two  years  before  Arkansas  became  a 
State  of  the  Union,  and  six  years  before  Cumberland  University  at 
Lebanon,  Tennessee,  was  born.  The  Rev.  Samuel  King,  then 
traveling  as  evangelist  at  large,  was  called  to  the  chair,  and  pre- 
sided over  the  meeting.  A  board  of  trust  was  chosen,  and  the 
Rev.  B.  H.  Pierson,  D.D.,  was  elected  president,  and  Ezra  Wilson, 
clerk.  This  school  was  opened  April,  1835,  and  was  probably  kept 
up  in  some  form  until  seventeen  years  afterward,  when  Cane  Hill 
College  was  chartered.  Cane  Hill  was  only  about  ten  miles  from 
the  Indian  country.  The  tracks  of  the  red  man  were  scarcely  gone 
from  the  spot.  The  three  men  who  organized  the  first  presbytery 
of  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  church  were  all  living,  and  one 
of  them  presided  over  this  meeting.     This  school  in  the  wilder- 


Chapter  XXIX.]  MISCELLANEOUS   SKETCHES.  305 

ness,  some  say,  was  the  first  institution  of  learning  ever  established 
on  Arkansas  soil.  Its  prime  object  was  to  educate  young  men  pre- 
paring for  the  work  of  the  ministry. 

Dr.  Pierson,  both  the  Buchanans,  and  the  Pylants  were  all 
active  movers  in  inaugurating  this  pioneer  educational  enterprise. 
Of  John  Buchanan's  education  it  has  been  said:  "He  was  like  a 
grindstone;  if  not  very  sharp  himself,  he  was  specially  useful  in 
sharpening  others."  The  fruit  of  his  work  in  aiding  young 
preachers  to  secure  an  education  will  endure  forever.  John  Buch- 
anan's name  everywhere  in  Arkansas  calls  forth  exclamations  of 
praise  and  affection.  He  spent  many  years  as  Bible  agent.  The 
salary  offered  him  was  more  than  he  was  willing  to  accept.  He 
had  it  reduced  two  hundred  dollars  per  annum,  and  out  of  the 
remainder  he  regularly  gave  a  tenth  to  the  Lord's  cause.  He 
devoted  all  his  days  to  the  Lord's  work.  Once  he  stopped  at  a 
blacksmith  shop  and  had  his  horse  shod.  When  he  asked,  ' '  What 
is  the  bill?"  the  answer  was,  "Pray  for  me."  "Uncle  John"  re- 
plied: "I  am  in  the  habit  of  paying  as  I  go,  so  we  will  kneel  down 
here  now  and  have  the  prayer."  There  in  the  way-side  shop  the 
two  men  knelt,  and  a  soul-stirring  prayer  went  up  to  God  for  the 
blacksmith.  Buchanan  rode  the  circuit  ten  years  without  pay. 
He  worked  as  colporteur  one  year  for  one  hundred  dollars  and  his 
traveling  expenses.  He  was  Bible  agent  five  }'ears  on  a  salary  of 
five  hundred  dollars  per  annum.  He  collected  money  for  the  soci- 
ety equal  to  six  times  his  salary. 

In  1834  President  T.  C.  Anderson  and  the  Rev.  J.  M.  McMur- 
ray  were  traveling  in  Missouri.  They  put  up  at  a  private  house 
on  the  way-side — strangers  in  a  strange  land.  At  table  the  land- 
lady kept  gazing  at  Anderson.  After  a  while  she  heard  Mr. 
McMurray  call  his  name.  Immediately  she  asked,  "Are  you  any 
kin  to  the  Rev.  Alexander  Anderson  ?  "  'When  she  was  told  that  her 
guest  was  his  son,  she  sprang  to  her  feet,  seized  Mr.  Anderson's 
hand,  and  related  the  touching  story  of  her  conversion  under  the 
ministry  of  his  father.  The  travelers  yielded  to  a  pressing  in- 
vitation to  remain  and  preach  in  the  neighborhood.  President 
Anderson  says,  they  had  great  difiSculty  in  getting  away  from 
this  dear  lady.  She  clung  to  the  son  of  her  spiritual  father 
20 


3o6  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  iii. 

with  a  touching  tenderness,   and  begged  him  to  remain    in    that 
field  and  be  their  preacher. 

Some  of  the  people's  favorites  in  the  political  horizon  of  Mis- 
souri, in  1831,  had  been  fighting  duels.  Resolutions  were  brought 
before  the  Missouri  Synod,  not  only  condemning  duelling,  but 
earnestly  advising  all  members  of  the  church  to  vote  for  no  man 
who  ever  gave  or  accepted  a  challenge.  This  was  bringing 
matters  to  close  quarters.  Andrew  Jackson  and  Thomas  H. 
Benton  would  be  proscribed  by  that  action.  Fieiy  Democrats 
in  the  synod  declared  that  these  resolutions  were  introduced  for 
political  purposes.  The  debate  was  very  warm,  but  the  reso- 
lutions passed.  The  minority  appealed  to  the  General  Assembly, 
but  their  appeal  was  not  sustained.  A  hard  case.  Loyalty  to 
party  or  loyalty  to  the  church  courts  was  the  question  to  be 
decided.  Perhaps  General  Jackson  did  not  lose  many  votes  by 
the  decision. 

When  Jackson  was  elected  President  of  the  United  States,  one 
of  his  old  soldiers,  the  Rev.  J.  M.  Berry,  then  of  Illinois,  was  heard 
to  say,  "  The  8th  day  of  Januar\^  made  Andrew  Jackson  President 
and  me  a  preacher."  He  said  he  had  long  felt  it  to  be  his 
duty  to  preach  the  gospel,  but  had  rebelled.  During  the  fiercest 
portion  of  the  battle,  on  the  day  of  Jackson's  great  victor}', 
Mr.  Berry  found  himself  in  a  very  exposed  position.  The 
prospects  were  very  poor  for  escaping  all  the  deadly  missiles. 
In  view  of  almost  certain  -death,  his  rebellion  against  the  duty 
of  preaching  came  up  before  him  as  a  ver}'  solemn  matter.  It 
seemed  a  fearful  thing  to  go  into  the  presence  of  the  Judge  from 
a  life  of  disobedience  !  With  these  thoughts  he  there  vowed 
to  God  that  if  he  should  be  spared  he  would  rebel  no  longer. 
He  kept  his  vow,  and  was  an  ordained  preacher  when  Jackson 
was  elected  President.  He  then  made  the  remark  here  quoted, 
adding,    "I  would  not  swap  places  with  him  to-day." 

In  that  beautiful  valley  which  lies  south  of  the  great  bend 
in  Tennessee  River,  there  lived,  far  back  in  the  days  of  slaver}-, 
a  wealthy  doctor.  He  and  his  wife  were  both  infidels;  and  what  was 
worse,  they  had  propagated  their  views  far  and  near,  especially  among 
the  young  people.     In  their  large   parlor  had  been  held  many  a 


Chapter  XXIX.]  MISCEI.I.ANEOUS   SKETCHES.  307 

dancing  party,  wliere  ridiculing  the  Bible  and  Christianity  was 
one  of  the  chief  sources  of  amusement.  By  and  by  the  doctor  was 
taken  very  ill,  and  saw  that  his  illness  was  unto  death.  Summon- 
ing a  servant  he  sent  him  in  haste  after  the  Rev.  W.  D.  Chadick, 
of  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  church.  When  Chadick  arrived 
the  wife  of  the  sick  man  met  him  at  the  gate  and  said  to  him, 
"  Mr.  Chadick,  if  I  had  known  in  time  I  would  have  prevented 
the  messenger  from  going  and  so  saved  you  a  useless  ride.  I 
am  not  going  to  allow  you  to  see  my  husband."  The  preacher 
mounted  his  horse,  and  returned  to  his  home.  The  sick  doctor, 
finding  himself  thwarted  in  his  ejSforts  to  secure  Chadick,  de- 
termined on  another  scheme.  He  owned  a  negro,  who  was  a 
preacher.  This  old  man  was  called  ' '  Uncle  Dick. ' '  The  doctor 
sent  for  Dick,  and  told  him  that  he  wanted  to  be  taught  the 
way  of  salvation.  Dick  replied  "O  Lord  a  mercy,  massa,  I  can't 
help  you.  If  de  Lord  hisself  don't  help  you,  you  're  gone."  The 
doctor  then  asked  Dick  to  kneel  and  pray  for  him.  With  fast 
streaming  eyes  the  old  negro  knelt  and  poured  out  a  most 
earnest  prayer  for  divine  help.  The  prayer  continued  long,  and 
contained  in  it  the  simple  lesson  of  trust  in  the  Redeemer  alone 
for  salvation.  The  doctor  grasped  the  blessed  truth,  and  when 
Dick  rose  to  his  feet,  the  sick  man  was  clinging  to  Christ, 
the  one  hope  for  lost  souls.  He  died  and  was  buried,  and  after 
the  funeral  the  infidel  widow  returned  to  her  home.  Alone 
and  desolate  she  walked  through  her  large  rooms  and  elegant 
parlor.5,  absorbed  in  earnest  thought.  She  was  an  educated  woman, 
and  in  her  sorrow  she  felt  the  truth  of  what  Christians  had 
always  told  her  about  the  emptiness  of  worldly  pleasure.  If 
they  were  right  about  that  might  they  not  be  right  about  a 
future  state  ?  She  could  not  believe  that  her  husband  was  only 
dust  and  ashes.  Then  she  sent  for  old  Uncle  Dick,  and  after 
hours  of  earnest  prayer  she  became  a  rejoicing  convert.  She 
joined  the  Cumberland  Presbyterians.  As  she  had  been  a  prop- 
agandist of  unbelief,  she  now  resolved  to  devote  her  life  to  the 
work  of  leading  souls  to  Christ.  Accompanied  by  Uncle  Dick, 
who  drove  her  carriage,  and  assisted  by  his  prayers,  she  often 
went  from  house  to  house  laboring  for  souls.     The  good  fruits 


3o8  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  in. 

of  her  Christian  influence  and  efforts  are  still  found  in  that 
valley.  Old  Uncle  Dick  went  to  his  reward  long  ago,  but  she, 
though  now  quite  old,  still  gives  her  strength  to  the  service  of 
her   King. 

In  1825  the  Rev.  R.  D.  King  was  "riding  the  circuit"  in 
Tennessee,  when  a  man  described  to  him  a  wonderful  praj-er 
which  he  had  overheard  a  woman  offer  up  to  God.  The  woman 
was  living  in  a  new  settlement  where  infidelity  abounded,  and 
her  husband  and  sons  were  coming  under  its  influence.  The 
neighborhood  had  no  regular  preaching  of  any  sort,  and  this 
Christian  woman  had  tried  in  vain  to  secure  some  one  to  preach 
the  gospel  to  her  family.  In  her  prayer,  which  was  by  accident 
overheard,  she  opened  up  her  heart's  deep  troubles  to  the  Lord, 
laying  before  him  the  whole  dreadful  condition  of  the  com- 
munity in  which  she  lived.  She  told  the  Lord  how  infidelity 
was  making  its  way  into  her  own  family,  and,  finally,  in  all 
her  helplessness,  she  laid  the  case  down  at  the  Master's  feet. 
On  further  inquir}^,  King  learned  that  this  woman  lived  only 
eighteen  miles  from  his  usual  route,  and  he  determined  to  send 
an  appointment  for  preaching  at  her  house.  This  he  did;  but 
he  happened,  in  the  meantime,  to  meet  with  a  Methodist  min- 
ister who  warned  him  not  to  visit  that  neighborhood  because 
personal  violence  had  been  threatened  against  any  preacher  who 
might  venture  to  preach  there.  When  the  day  arrived  the  people 
at  whose  house  King  had  spent  the  night,  tried  hard  to  dissuade 
him  from  going.  King  yielded,  put  his  horse  back  in  the 
stable,  and  sat  down  to  try  to  study.  But  he  could  not  study. 
He  had  an  appointment  to  preach  and  was  playing  coward. 
Never  had  that  been  the  case  before.  Again  he  brouglit  out 
his  horse,  and  this  time  no  persuasion  could  stop  him.  When 
he  reached  the  place,  though  it  was  not  Sabbath,  the  whole  yard 
was  thronged  with  people.  Three  rooms  were  packed  full.  King 
preached  ;  and  began  singing,  "Hark,  my  soul,  it  is  the  Lord." 
As  yet  there  was  no  violence,  no  interruption;  but  some  frowns 
and  scowding  faces  were  seen,  and  King  was  not  yet  free  from 
apprehension.  When  he  was  singing  the  second  verse,  a  beauti- 
ful woman  cried  out,  ' '  Glory  to  God. "     "  That, ' '  says  King,  ' '  was 


Chapter   XXIX.]  MISCEI.I.ANEOUS   SKETCHES.  309 

one  of  tlie  sweetest  interruptions  ever  a  preacher  suffered."  Rising 
to  lier  feet,  this  woman  made  her  way  toward  a  man  who  had 
been  looking  defiance  all  through  the  sermon.  When  the  happy 
woman  drew  near  him,  stretching  out  both  her  arms  toward 
him  she  exclaimed,  in  thrilling  accents,  "O  father."  The 
man  fell  prostrate.  He  was  the  husband  of  the  woman  who 
prayed  that  wonderful  prayer,  and  he  proved  to  be  the  key-stone 
of  the  arch,  and  all  the  arch  came  tumbling  down.  This  was 
one  of  the  day's  of  the  Son  of  man.  They  had  services  again 
that  night.  Next  day  when  King  started  on  his  way  sixteen 
of  the  young  people  were  at  the  gate,  mounted  and  ready  to  go 
with  him  to  his  next  place  of  preaching  ;  and  every  one  of  these 
sixteen  professed  conversion  that  day.  The  woman  who  had 
prayed  the  wonderful  prayer  also  went  along  with  King  to  that 
next   day's  meeting. 

The  results  were  so  different  from  all  his  apprehensions  that 
Mr.  King  was  puzzled  to  understand  the  case.  Inquiring  into 
the  matter,  he  learned  that  after  the  woman  had  prayed  so  ear- 
nestly she  began  the  regular  practice  of  gathering  all  her  children 
into  her  private  room,  every  Sabbath,  and  there  reading  a  por- 
tion of  Scripture  and  trying  to  expound  it,  after  which  she  knelt 
with  them  in  prayer.  A  change  came  over  these  children,  especially 
in  their  Sabbath  habits.  Their  comrades,  who  visited  the  family, 
noticed  the  change,  and  asked  the  cause  of  it.  Learning  about 
the  Sabbath  lessons  in  that  private  room,  they  obtained  per- 
mission to  attend.  The  little  private  room  was  crowded  at 
every  recitation,  and  there,  under  the  teaching  and  prayers  of 
that  humble  woman,  God  was  sapping  the  foundations  of  infidelitv, 
and  preparing  the  way  for  his  gospel.  When  King  next  passed 
that  way  on  his  circuit,  he  again  preached  at  this  good  woman's 
house,  and  then  organized  the  Lasting  Hope  congregation,  Maury 
County,  Tennessee.  The  name  was  appropriate  to  the  long  cling- 
ing, and  finally  gratified,  hope  of  that  mother.  At  that  second 
service  this  mother  saw  her  husband  and  children  become  mem- 
bers of  the  church.  This  account  is  taken  from  King's  m.anu- 
script  autobiography. 


FOURTH    PERIOD. 


CHAPTER   XXX. 


A   GENERAL   SURVEY. 

Already,  laboring  with    a   mighty  fate, 

She    shakes    the    rubbish    from   her    mounting   brovr. 

And  seems   to  have   renewed    her   charter's  date. 
Which   Heaven  will    to    the    death  of  Time    allow. 

— Dryde/i. 

T  tlie  beginning  of  this  period  of  eighteen  years  there  were 
twelve  Cumberland  Presbyterian  synods  and  fifty-three 
presbyteries  ;  at  its  close  there  were  twenty-seven  synods  and 
ninty-seven  presbyteries.  The  average  increase  was  not  quite 
one  synod  each  year  ;  and  considerably  over  two  presbyteries  a 
year,  not  quite  three.  When  this  period  began  the  church  had 
just  emerged  from  great  internal  trials  ;  at  its  close  the  whole 
country  was  just  plunging  into  the  fiery  external  ordeal  which 
the  civil  war  was  bringing  on.  It  was  well  that  the  church 
had  this  breathing  spell  of  eighteen  years  between  these  two 
ordeals. 

True,  the  bitter  strifes  of  the  third  period  projected  their 
waning  shadows  into  this  fourth  period.  The  Rev.  James  Smith 
remained  a  member  of  the  church  several  years  after  his  resig- 
nation of  the  office  of  stated  clerk,  and  after  the  beginning  of 
this  period.  He  refused  to  hand  over  the  Minutes  of  the  General 
Assembly  to  his  successor,  but,  after  many  calls  and  some  threats 
of  legal  process,  the  Assembly  finally  got  possession  of  its  own 
records.  The  Minutes  of  three  meetings  of  the  General  S>-nod, 
1821,  1823,'  ^"^  1S26,  however  were    lacking,  also   the   Minutes 

» I  have  found  the  Records  for  1823,  since  I  began  to  write  this  History. 


Chapter  XXX.]  GENERAL   SURVEY.  31I 

of  the  General  Assembly  for  1838.  The  Assembly  called  on  all 
the  ministers  of  the  church  to  help  find  the  lost  records.  The 
Minutes  for  1838  were  partially  recovered  through  the  newspaper 
reports.     The  others  remain  lost. 

The  opening  sermon  of  the  General  Assembly  of  1843  was 
preached  by  Milton  Bird.  The  text  was  Acts  vi.  4.  Two  great 
evils  had  been  crushing  the  very  life  out  of  the  church:  A  secu- 
larized ministry  and  a  secularized  General  Assembly  —  that  is, 
an  Assembly  embarrassed  by  financial  enterprises,  all  of  which  had 
proved  disastrous.  Various  writers  had  been  pointing  out  the 
evils  arising  from  this  secularization  of  preachers  and  church 
courts  ;  but  the  most  forcible  and  effective  of  all  these  protests 
was  this  opening  sermon  by  Milton  Bird.  He  argued  first 
against  a  secularized  clergy.  He  showed  what  was  the  voice  of 
both  history  and  Scripture  on  the  subject,  and  dwelt  with  power 
on  the  high  and  holy  nature  of  the  minister's  calling.  He 
showed  next  that  the  mission  of  the  church  courts  was  like  the 
mission  of  the  ministr}',  exclusively  spiritual  ;  that  both  the  Old 
and  New  Testament  Scriptures  laid  down  rigid  laws  excluding 
these  courts  from  the  management  of  secular  affairs.  Other  and 
wholly  separate  organizations  were  required  by  Scripture  for  the 
transaction  of  financial  business.  Boards  of  experts  could  manage 
these  things  far  better  than  any  General  Assembl}-,  while  the  spirit- 
ual oversight  of  the  churches  far  exceeded  in  importance  all  secular 
business,  and  was  work  enough  to  fill  the  hands  of  any  Assembly. 
From  that  day  onward  Milton  Bird's  high  rank  among  the  min- 
isters of  the  church  was  recognized.  The  Assembly  passed  resolu- 
tions declaring  itself  forever  divorced  from  all  management  of 
financial  affairs,  whether  connected  v/ith  newspapers,  colleges,  the 
publication  of  books,  or  aught  else. 

Inasmuch  as  there  were  still  found  in  the  Assembly  of  1843 
men  who  kept  alive  the  strife  about  the  colleges  and  the  papers, 
those  who  were  for  peace  determined  to  have  no  Assembly  in  1844. 
Their  views  prevailed,  and  the  Assembly  adjourned,  requiring  the 
next  Assembly  to  meet  in  1845,  ^^  Lebanon,  Tennessee. 

The  General  Assembly  of  1845  ^^^  a  most  interesting  convoca- 
tion.     The  great  speech  of  that  occasion  was  made  outside  of 


312  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  iv. 

Assembly  hours  by  the  Rev.  A.  M.  Bryan,  D.D.,  of  Pittsburg, 
Pennsylvania.  His  theme  was  the  great  fire  which  had  lately 
swept  through  Pittsburg.  At  the  close  of  that  speech  Judge  R. 
L.  Caruthers  gave  Dr.  Bryan  a  thousand  dollars  for  the  sufferers. 
Dr.  Beard's  address  on  education  was  also  deeply  impressive. 

The  missionary  work  of  the  church  had  almost  entirely  passed 
into  the  hands  of  presbyterial  and  synodical  boards  of  missions. 
The  lyadies'  General  Board  at  Russellville,  Kentucky,  had  ceased  to 
exist,  and  the  church  at  that  place  had  declined  much  in  numbers 
and  influence.  The  Assembly  of  1845  proceeded  to  organize  a 
Board  of  Domestic  and  Foreign  Missions,  and  located  it  at  Leb- 
anon, Tennessee.  For  a  few  years  it  carried  on  its  foreign  work  as 
an  auxiliary  to  the  American  Board.  The  Rev.  Thomas  Calhoun 
was  its  first  president.  After  his  death  the  Rev.  F.  R.  Cossitt  was 
president. 

A  curious  complication  arose  in  connection  with  the  church's 
mission  work.  The  presbyterial  and  synodical  boards  had  ex- 
tended their  operations  far  beyond  their  own  boundaries.  Some 
of  them  were  slow  to  yield  their  independent  work  and  become 
auxiliary  to  the  general  board.  The  men  in  charge  of  the  general 
board  had  a  hard  struggle  to  get  all  this  machinery  adjusted;  but 
through  a  wise  and  prudent  administration  of  the  board's  affairs, 
harmony  was  secured. 

The  board  at  first  had  no  paid  officers.  The  whole  receipts 
would  not  have  paid  one  salary.  When  at  last,  in  1851,  the  Rev. 
Isaac  Shook  was  employed  as  secretary,  the  receipts  were  only  a 
little  more  than  the  salary.  In  1853,  after  this  secretary  had  held 
his  office  for  two  years,  the  entire  receipts  were  $2,953.  ^^  was  a 
curious  view  of  this  responsible  work  which  allowed  the  only  paid 
officer  of  the  board  to  live  on  his  farm  fifty  miles  away  from  Leb- 
anon. This  state  of  things,  however,  was  not  permitted  to  con- 
tinue long.  Mr.  Shook  moved  to  Lebanon  in  1852,  and  put  forth 
all  his  strength  in  the  work.  In  1853,  by  the  direction  of  the 
board,  and  with  the  approval  of  the  General  Assembly,  he  began 
the  publication  of  a  monthly  missionary  magazine.  Shook  was  a 
holy,  earnest  man.  His  heart  was  in  his  work.  He  stirred  up 
new  interest  for  the  Indians,  and  made  some  progress  in  enlisting 


Chapter  XXX.]  GENERAL   SURVEY.  313 

the  whole  church  in  the  great  work  of  missions.  He  was  all  his 
life  an  invalid. 

After  Mr.  Shook' s  resignation,  in  1854,  there  was  an  interval 
without  a  secretary.  Then  the  Rev.  T.  P.  Calhoun  was  elected. 
He  was  a  young  man  just  out  of  college,  a  son  of  Thomas  Cal- 
houn so  often  mentioned  in  the  preceding  chapters  of  this  history, 
and  a  son-in-law  of  the  Rev.  David  Lowry.  In  the  collection  of 
missionary  funds  he  relied  largely  on  traveling  agents,  but  the 
results  of  this  whole  system  were  unsatisfactory.  In  1857  Mr.  Cal- 
houn resigned,  and  there  v/as  considerable  difficulty  in  securing 
another  secretary. 

The  Rev.  T.  C.  Blake  was  secured  for  this  position  in  Decem- 
ber, 1857,  and  to  him  the  church  is  indebted  for  the  first  success- 
ful attempt  to  dispense  with  traveling  agents  in  the  work  of  collect- 
ing money  for  missions.  When  he  announced  that  the  preachers 
throughout  the  church  would  be  solely  relied  on  to  do  the  work 
hitherto  done  by  agents,  many  were  the  prophesies  of  disaster.  But 
the  secretary  adhered  strictly  to  his  programme.  In  two  years, 
without  paid  agents,  the  receipts  of  the  board  were  increased  from 
five  thousand  dollars  to  fourteen  thousand  dollars.  Notes  on  hand 
were  regularly  reported  by  Mr.  Blake,  but  these  were  notes  taken 
under  former  secretaries.  The  cash  receipts  were  fourteen  thou- 
sand dollars.  The  receipts  by  States  for  i860  were,  in  round  num- 
bers, as  follows:  Tennessee,  $5,235;  Alabama,  $2,251;, Arkansas, 
$1,595;  Mississippi,  $1,460;  Kentucky,  $1,135;  Indiana,  $925;  Mis- 
souri, $562;  Texas,  $302;  Kansas,  $181;  I^ouisiana,  $106;  Illinois, 
$90;  Iowa,  $75;  Pennsylvania,  $53;  Ohio,  $48.  There  were  small 
contributions  from  several  other  States. 

For  several  years  each  synod  made  its  own  arrangements  about 
having  the  Confession  of  Faith  and  Catechism  published.  The 
propriety  of  having  some  general  and  central  committee  of  publi- 
cation had  often  been  discussed,  and  at  the  Assembly  of  1845  such 
a  committee  was  appointed.  The  scheme  contemplated  proved 
impracticable.  The  members  of  the  committee  lived  in  different 
States  at  great  distances  from  each  other.  A  joint  stock  company 
was  to  be  formed,  and  all  the  presbyteries  were  asked  to  become 
Stockholders  in  the  enterprise.     Thus  the  mania  for  joint  stock 


314  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  iv. 

companies  which  prevailed  during  the  preceding  period  had  not 
wholly  disappeared.  Speculation  in  Western  lands,  in  gold  mines, 
in  insurance  companies,  in  various  other  schemes,  have  all  been 
tried  by  our  boards,  and  have  all  left  the  marks  of  God's  displeas- 
ure upon  the  past  records  of  the  church.  Giving  money  for  God's 
cause  is  an  act  of  worship  and  a  means  of  grace,  and  all  schemes  to 
supplant  God's  established  method  are  theoretically  false  and  prac- 
tically disastrous.  Under  a  new  disguise  the  Assembly  of  1845 
fettered  itself  again  with  the  halter  from  which  the  Assembly  of 
1843  had  freed  itself.  Financial  speculation  was  to  be  embarked 
in,  not  this  time  by  the  Assembly  itself,  but  by  the  presbyteries. 
The  Committee  on  Publication  at  the  next  two  meetings  of  the 
Assembly  reported  nothing  accomplished. 

In  1847  t^i^  programme  was  changed.  The  General  Assembly 
appointed  a  publishing  committee  whose  members  lived  near 
Ivouisville,  Kentucky.  This  committee  was  instructed  to  secure  a 
charter,  and  to  appoint  financial  agents  to  solicit  donations,  to 
keep  clear  of  debt,  and  to  make  no  sales  on  a  credit.  Like  little 
boats,  they  were  to  keep  near  shore.  The  Rev.  Milton  Bird  was 
at  the  head  of  this  enterprise.  It  was  on  a  sound  basis,  though  its 
lack  of  capital  was  a  great  embarrassment.  For  several  years  it 
issued  Confessions  of  Faith  and  hymn  books,  and  seemed  to  be 
doing  well.  This  board  sent  out  traveling  agents,  and  thus 
secured  means  to  begin  its  business.  Its  books  were  published 
under  contract,  by  the  house  of  Morton  &  Griswold,  which  was 
then  the  best  publishing  house  south  of  the  Ohio  River. 

The  administration  of  the  board's  financial  affairs  frequently 
changed  hands,  and  there  grew  up  at  last  general  dissatisfaction 
with  the  management.  In  1857  the  General  Assembly  declared 
the  report  of  the  board  both  vague  and  unsatisfactory,  and  called 
for  a  final  settlement  of  its  affairs.  The  next  year  (1858)  the  board 
made  no  report,  but  A.  F.  Cox,  financial  agent,  attended  the  Assem- 
bly, and  answered  the  inquiries  made  by  the  committee  appointed 
to  investigate  the  case.  The  result  of  this  investigation  was  that 
the  Assembly  appointed  a  new  committee  of  publication,  to  be 
located  at  Nashville,  Tennessee,  and  ordered  the  Louisville  board 
to  transfer  all  its  assets  to  this  Nashville  committee.     The  Rev.  W. 


Chapter  XXX.]  GENERAL   SURVEY.  315 

M.  Reed  was  cliainnan  of  this  committee.  The  Rev.  W.  S.  Lang- 
don  was  the  first  financial  agent,  and  he  began  his  services  soon 
after  the  committee  was  organized,  but  resigned  after  a  few 
months. 

The  Nashville  committee  obtained  fcom  the  Louisville  board  a 
lot  of  badly  damaged  books,  the  manuscript  for  a  hymn  book,  a 
number  of  old  notes,  and  a  few  stereotype  plates.  Along  with 
these  it  received  another  inheritance,  the  debts  of  the  Louisville 
board.  The  books  and  old  notes,  however,  paid  off  these  debts, 
and  furnished  besides  about  nine  hundred  dollars  capital.  The 
committee  then  secured  a  regular  charter.  After  the  confusion 
attending  the  removal  of  the  effects  of  the  board  from  Louisville, 
the  stereotype  plates  of  "Infant  Philosophy,"  " Ewing's  Lectures," 
"Donnell's  Thoughts,"  and  "Porter's  Foreknowledge  and  De- 
crees," were  found  to  be  missing.  The  Louisville  board  in  1853 
had  reported  all  these  plates  except  the  last  as  assets,  mentioning 
the  recent  purchase  of  the  copyright  of  "Infant  Philosophy." 
When  the  plates  were  missed,  a  man  was  sent  from  Nashville  to 
search  for  them.  He  succeeded  in  tracing  them  from  Louisville  to 
Philadelphia,  but  failed  to  find  them.  They  will  probably  never  be 
recovered. 

In  the  second  year  after  the  removal  to  Nashville  this  board 
secured  the  Rev.  Isaac  Shook  as  its  general  financial  agent.  The 
last  year  of  this  period  it  reported  books  and  plates  on  hand 
amounting  in  value  to  thirty-seven  hundred  dollars.  Ten  thou- 
sand copies  of  the  Hymn  Book  had  been  sold.  The  board  owed 
one  debt  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  dollars.  The  report  to  the 
General  Assembly  declared  that  no  church  could  carry  on  its  pub- 
lication work  on  any  other  plan  than  strict  conformity  to  sound 
business  principles. 

Cumberland  Presbyterians  have  a  curious  hymn  book  history. 
Several  small  collections  of  camp-meeting  In-mns  were  published 
by  individuals,  but  the  church  for  a  long  time  had  no  recognized 
book  of  its  own.  On  the  pulpits  could  be  found  the  hymn  books 
of  Methodists,  Baptists,  and  other  churches.  At  a  Sunday  sen^ice 
in  a  church  where  a  Methodist  book  was  used  a  minister  who  had 
but  lately  preached  a  series  of  sermons  on  the  final  perseverance  of 


3i6  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  iv. 

the  saints  hurriedly  selected  a  h}'mn.     Beginning  without  noticing 
the  import  of  the  words,  he  read: 

"  With  shame  of  soul  I  do  confess, 
A  real  saint  may  fall  from  grace." 

In  1845  a  manuscript  hymn  book  was  adopted  by  the  General 
Assembly,  and  afterward  published  by  the  Board  of  Publication. 
In  1858  this  book  was  revised  by  a  committee  aj^pointed  by  the 
Assembly,  and  then  stereotyped  under  direction  of  the  board  at 
Nashville.     This  was  that  board's  first  work  of  this  kind. 

The  Assembly  of  1855  organized  the  Board  of  Education  at 
Nashville,  Tennessee.  The  Rev.  M.  H.  Bone  was  its  president, 
and  the  Rev.  J.  C.  Provine,  D.  D. ,  secretary  and  treasurer.  This 
board's  receipts  averaged  about  one  thousand  dollars  a  year  in  cash, 
v/hile  the  notes  it  annually  took  ranged  from  six  hundred  to  five 
thousand  dollars.  It  was  interrupted  by  the  war,  but  is  still  at 
work.  The  aid  it  has  given  annuall}^  to  5'Oung  men  preparing  for 
the  ministry  does  not,  however,  equal  the  tenth  part  of  what  is 
done  by  the  church,  because  many  individuals  and  even  some  soci- 
eties prefer  to  report  only  to  the  Lord  what  they  give  for  this  pur- 
pose. It  is  very  important  that  the  receipts  of  this  board  should 
be  greatly  increased. 

The  Board  of  Church  Erection,  organized  by  the  Assembly  of 
1856,  was  located  at  St.  Louis,  IMissouri,  with  the  Rev.  J.  B.  Logan 
at  its  head.  This  board  was  instructed  to  secure  donations,  and  to 
loan,  not  give,  the  money  to  weak  churches  for  building  purposes. 
At  no  time  did  its  receipts  amount  to  three  hundred  dollars  per 
annum.  One  year  it  received  only  seven  dollars;  another  year  it 
reported  no  receipts  at  all.  Let  it  not  be  supposed,  however,  that 
our  people  turned  a  deaf  ear  to  all  calls  for  help  in  building 
churches.  At  Philadelphia,  St.  Louis,  and  Cincinnati,  at  Austin, 
Texas,  Burlington,  Iowa,  and  Murfreesboro  and  Jackson,  Tennes- 
see, and  at  other  places,  comfortable  houses  were  erected  vrith 
money  given  by  distant  congregations.  It  is  not  known  wh}-  these 
handsome  donations  to  church  erection  were  not  given  through  the 
board  or  reported  to  it. 

From  an  early  day  the  highest  judicature  of  the  Cumberland 
Presbyterian  church  kept  renewing  its  declarations  of  readiness  for 


Chapter  XXX.]  GENERAL   SURVEY.  317 

friendly  correspondence  with  other  evangelical  churches.  The 
General  Assembly  appointed  a  standing  Committee  on  Fraternal 
Correspondence.  In  1845  several  articles  from  members  of  the 
New  School  Presbyterian  church  appeared  in  the  papers,  advocat- 
ing closer  union  with  Cumberland  Presbyterians.  One  New  School 
synod  passed -some  resolutions  calling  for  such  union.  The  New 
School  General  Assembly  of  1846  passed  the  following  paper: 

Whereas,  there  is  a  spirit  abroad  that  seeks  to  unite  in  closer 
bonds  the  different  divisions  of  the  Christian  cliurch;  and  whereas, 
there  prevails  extensively  In  some  parts  of  our  country  an  impression 
that  a  union  between  the  Presbyterian  church  and  the  Cumberland 
Presbyterian  church  would  be  very  desirable;  and  whereas,  the  General 
Assembly  of  that  body  did,  at  its  session  in  May  last,  at  Lebanon,  Ten- 
nessee, appoint  a  committee  of  correspondence  on  the  subject  of  union; 
therefore, 

Resolved,  That  this  Assembly  now  appoint  a  committee  to  corre- 
spond with  the  aforesaid  committee  on  the  subject,  to  obtain  all  neces- 
sary information,  and  to  present  it  to  this  Assembly  at  its  next  stated 
meeting. 

Although  this  action  was  not  known  to  the  Cumberland  Pres- 
byterian Assembly  of  1846,  yet  there  had  been  so  much  written  by 
members  of  the  New  School  church  about  union  with  our  people, 
and  so  many  friendly  signals  had  been  held  out  by  synods  and 
presbyteries,  that  this  Assembly  felt  itself  authorized  to  take  some 
steps  toward  responding  to  these  friendly  expressions.  It  there- 
fore appointed  Dr.  Richard  Beard  a  corresponding  delegate  to  the 
next  New  School  Assembly.  In  1847  o^^r  Assembly  met  at  Leb- 
anon, Ohio,  wdiile  theirs  met  in  Cincinnati.  Their  committee 
came  to  Lebanon,  and  there  held  a  conference  with  our  standing 
committee  while  the  two  Assemblies  were  in  session.  These  two 
committees  entered  into  an  agreement  not  only  for  correspondence, 
but  much  more.  The  items  of  their  agreement  were  in  these 
words: 

Resolved,  Provided  both  Assemblies  shall  agree  thereto,  that  the  fol- 
lowing plan  of  correspondence  be  adopted,  viz.:  The  General  Assem- 
bly of  each  of  these  churches  shall  receive  and  appoint  two  delegates 
to  each  stated  meeting  of  the  General  Assembly  of  the  other  church, 
who  shall  possess  all  the  powers  and  privileges  of  other  members  of 


3i8  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  iv. 

such  Assemblies,  with  the  exception  of  the  right  of  voting.  2.  It  is 
hereby  recommended  that  the  synods  and  presbyteries  of  these  churches 
which  are  contiguous,  or  which  occupy  the  same  territory,  appoint  and 
receive  delegates  to  one  another  in  like  manner,  and  that  they  endeavor 
to  cultivate  a  spirit  of  friendly  correspondence  and  extended  toleration, 
mutually  to  increase  in  courteous  and  fraternal  feelings  toward  each 
other.  3.  Vacant  churches  belonging  to  each  denomination  may  at 
their  own  discretion,  and  under  regulations  to  be  provided  by  the  pres- 
byteries to  which  they  belong,  employ  the  ministers  connected  with  the 
other  body  as  temporary  supplies  for  their  pulpits,  without  a  change  in 
the  ecclesiastical  relations  of  such  ministers  or  churches. 

The  Rev.  Milton  Bird,  chairman  of  our  standing  committee, 
submitted  this  report  to  our  Assembly  immediately.  The  first  item 
was  unanimously  agreed  to.  The  second  and  third  items  were 
indefinitely  postponed.  The  New  School  committee  hastened  to 
Cincinnati  and  submitted  their  report.  There  was  considerable 
debate.  The  large  slave-holding  element  in  the  Cumberland  Pres- 
byterian church  constituted  the  only  objection.  One  prominent 
doctor  said  in  his  speech '  that  the  Presbyterian  church  owed  the 
Cumberland  Presbyterians  an  acknowledgement  for  the  wrong 
which  drove  them  into  a  separate  organization.  The  chairman  of 
the  committee  said  that  he  had  found  no  difference  between  the 
two  churches  in  doctrine.  Finally  the  whole  matter  was  deferred 
till  the  next  General  Assembly. 

Dr.  Beard,  as  corresponding  delegate  to  the  Cincinnati  Assem- 
bly, found  himself  in  an  awkward  attitude.  He  was  present  and 
heard  this  discussion  on  the  question  of  receiving  corresponding 
delegates  from  the  Cumberland  Presbyterians.  He  declined  to 
press  his  case  on  the  attention  of  the  Assembly,  but  after  spending 
one  day  as  a  private  spectator  only,  he  returned  to  his  home.  He 
felt  mortified  and  humiliated,  and  said  he  would  never  again  allow 
himself  to  be  placed  in  so  embarrassing  an  attitude. 

The  New  School  Assembly  of  1848,  to  which  this  report  of  the 
Committee  on  Fraternal  Intercourse  was  referred,  adopted  the  first 
item  of  this  report,  and  appointed  a  delegate  to  the  next  Cumber- 
land Presbyterian  Assembly.  Action  on  the  second  and  third 
items  was  forestalled   by  what  our  Assembly  had  done  the  year 

^The  Texas  Presbyterian,  July  17,  1847,  quotes  these  speeches  at  some  length. 


Chapter  XXX.]  GENERAL   SURVEY.  319 

before.  In  spite  of  ecclesiastical  marriages,  fraternal  correspond- 
ence lias  been  kept  up  in  some  form  between  the  two  churches 
ever  since.  In  1850  the  Rev.  Edward  McMillan,  D.D.,  delegate 
from  the  New  School  church,  closed  his  address  to  the  Cumberland 
Presbyterian  Assembly  with  these  words: 

The  literary  institutions  of  your  church,  with  the  divine  blessing, 
will  prove  a  most  effective  instrumentality  for  promoting  that  enlarge- 
ment of  mind  and  vigor  of  thought  which,  when  united  with  evangel- 
ical piety,  form  such  important  quaHfications  for  doing  good  on  a  large 
scale.  We  congratulate  you  most  heartily  in  your  success  in  securing 
tiie  endowment  of  your  university,  and  the  encouraging  prospects  be- 
fore you  of  establishing  schools  for  your  sons  of  the  prophets.  May 
Christ  conduct  your  efforts  in  this  undertaking  to  a  prosperous  termina- 
tion. I  would  not  fail  to  assure  you  that  we  rejoice  much  in  the  decid- 
edly evangeUcal  character  of  your  religious  periodicals. 

Finally,  brethren,  I  testify  that  I  have  with  much  happiness  wit- 
nessed the  excellent  spirit  with  which  you  have  conducted  the  business 
of  your  present  sessions,  and  the  tender  regard  continually  shown  by 
all  your  speakers  for  the  feelings  of  their  brethren.  I  shall  long  cherish 
the  fondest  recollections  of  this  beginning  of  fraternal  correspondence 
between  these  kindred  branches  of  the  church  of  Christ.  May  it  be 
long  continued,  and,  as  it  continues,  may  our  mutual  love,  attachment, 
and  co-operation  in  every  good  work  be  increased  till  the  Master  comes 
and  finds  us  so  doing. 

It  was  not  till  i860  that  the  Old  School  Assembly  took  steps 
toward  an  exchange  of  corresponding  delegates  with  our  Assembly. 
While  Cumberland  Presbyterians  naturally  waited  for  Presbyterians 
to  move  first  in  this  matter,  3^et  they  hailed  this  movement  with 
great  joy. 

At  different  times  official  efforts  have  been  made  to  secure  a 
complete  history'  of  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  church.  The 
Assembly  of  1847  appointed  Dr.  Cossitt  to  write  such  a  histor}^ 
This,  like  other  similar  appointments,  came  to  nothing. 

Two  general  fast-days  were  appointed  in  this  period:  one  to 
pray  for  peace  with  England,  in  1846,  the  Oregon  difficulties  being 
then  portentous  of  war;  and  the  other,  in  1853,  to  pray  that  more 
preachers  might  be  called  and  sent  into  the  ministry.  All  through 
this  period  the  Assembly  kept  up  its  efforts  to  secure  full  statistics, 
and  a  complete  ministerial  directory,  but  at  no  time  were  there  full 


320  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.      [Period  iv. 

reports  from  more  than  half  tlie  presbyteries.     Not  until  after  the 
war  did  all  opposition  to  counting  cease  to  show  itself. 

In  1855,  while  the  General  Assembly  was  in  session  at  Lebanon, 
Tennessee,  it  received  a  letter  from  the  Rev.  Robert  Donnell,  writ- 
ten from  his  death-bed.  It  was  a  tender,  fatherly  letter,  full  of  love 
and  full  of  hope  for  the  future  of  his  church.  He  urged  the  impor- 
tance of  securing  a  full  history  of  our  church.  He  remonstrated 
against  revising  the  Confession  of  Faith.  He  said  of  the  Confes- 
sion: "Though  it  is  not  perfect  in  phraseology,  yet  it  has  system 
and  perfection  enough  to  make  us  all  think  alike."  The  General 
Assembly  apjDointed  a  committee  to  respond  to  this  letter,  and  thus 
closed  forever  the  church's  earthly  intercourse  with  one  of  the 
noblest  of  all  its  servants. 

Memorials  proposing  to  change  the  name  of  our  church  to 
American  Presbyterian  were  voted  down  in  1850.  Discussions 
about  baptism  were  brought  before  the  Assembly  of  1857,  and  the 
traditional  position  of  the  church  was  steadfastly  maintained. 

In  i860  there  were  fifteen  chartered  Cumberland  Presbyterian 
colleges,  and  thirteen  academies  and  seminaries.  ]\Iany  other  mat- 
ters of  vital  importance  which  occupied  the  attention  of  the  vari- 
ous Assemblies,  having  special  chapters  devoted  to  them,  need  not 
be  now  discussed.  In  1855  the  day  of  meeting  for  the  General 
Assembly  was  changed  to  the  third  Thursday  of  ]\Iay  instead  of  the 
third  Tuesday.  In  1850  Milton  Bird  was  elected  stated  clerk,  C.  G. 
McPherson  having  resigned.  The  synods  that  were  formed  in  this 
period,  or  whose  organization  was  ordered  by  the  General  Assem- 
bly, were:  East  Tennessee,  1843;  Texas  (recognized  as  existing), 
McAdow,  Kentucky,  Hernando,  1845;  Cumberland  (dissolved  in 
1852),  1848;  Brazos,  1849;  Ozark,  Ouchita  (incorrectly  spelled 
Washita),  1852;  Ohio,  1853;  Colorado,  1854;  Iowa  (failed  to  organ- 
ize), 1855;  Mississippi,  2d  (name  changed  to  Iowa  afterward),  1856; 
White  River,  Central  Illinois,  1859;  Sacramento,  i860.  The  pres- 
byteries named  in  the  following  list  are  mentioned  for  the  first  time 
in  the  Minutes  of  the  Assembly  at  the  dates  here  indicated:'  Mad- 
ison, Trinity,  Yazoo,  1846;  Allegheny,  Springfield  (Missouri),  1847; 

'  Several  of  these  presbyteries  were  doubtless  organized  at  earlier  dates  than 
those  here  assigned. 


Chapter  XXX.]  GENERAI.  SURVEY.  321 

Hodge/  Charlotte,  Independence,  1848;  Frazier,  Oucliita,  Marshall, 
1849;  Chillicothe,  Ewing  (Missouri),  Harris,  1850;  Ewing^  (Arkan- 
sas), Union  (Mississippi),  Bartholomew,  Brazos,  Foster,  and  Cali- 
fornia, 1852;  Oregon,  Muskingum,  1853;  Guadalupe,  Little  River, 
1854;  Tehuacana,  Pacific,  McMinnville,  Waxahachie,  West  Iowa, 
1855;  Searcy,  Kansas,  White  Rock,  Greenville,  1856;  Monroe,  1857; 
Frazier  (reported  dissolved),  1858;  Mount  Olive,  Red  Oak,  Georgia, 
Davis,  West  Prairie,  Decatur,  Bacon,  White  Oak,  Colesburg,  Cen- 
tral Iowa,  1859;  Kirksville,  Sacramento,  i860. 

'Name  changed  to  Springfield  (1849). 

'The  other  Ewing  Presbytery  (McAdow  Synod)  was  dissolved  in  1852. 

21 


322  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  iv. 


CHAPTER   XXXI. 


MISSIONS— 1S43  TO    1S60. 

But  through  the  clouds  and  through  the  flame 

And  flowing  floods  as  on  I  went, 
A  voice  of  hope  and  cheering  came, 

Fear  not  to  go  where  God  hath  sent. 

—  Ufham. 

IN  all  the  territories  wliicli  were  opened  to  settlement  during 
this  period,  as  well  as  in  all  the  new  States  mentioned  in 
former  chapters,  Cumberland  Presbyterian  missions  were  planted, 
some  under  the  general  board,  but  a  larger  number  under  the  care 
of  presbyteries  and  synods.  Church  judicatures  had  long  arms 
when  it  came  to  missionary  work.  A  presbytery  in  Tennessee  had 
a  missionary  in  Texas.  Most  of  this  work  by  synods  and  presby- 
teries will  have  to  be  passed  over  in  silence.  However  precious  it 
may  have  been,  it  is  only  traceable  now  in  the  fruit  which  still 
abides.  The  special  chapters  devoted  to  the  new  States  will  bring 
to  our  notice  some  of  these  fruits,  as  well  as  some  account  of  the 
general  board's  work  in  those  States. 

One  feature  of  the  home  missionary  work  of  this  period  was 
city  missions.  There  were  a  great  many  of  these,  some  under  the 
general  board  and  some  under  local  boards.  In  Tennessee,  missions 
were  established  at  Chattanooga,  Murfreesboro,  Clarksville,  and 
Jackson.  These  have  all  become  self-sustaining  churches,  with 
good  buildings  finished  and  paid  for. 

In  Kentucky  the  city  missions  of  the  period  were  Louisville 
and  Paducah.  At  Louisville  a  good  house  was  built  and  paid  for, 
and  a  little  congregation  organized;  but  the  house  was  lost  during 
the  war  by  processes  which  it  is  not  now  worth  while  to  discuss. 
This  mission  has  been  revived,  and  now  has  a  new  house  almost 
completed.     Paducah  became  for  a  time  self-sustaining. 

In  Missouri  the  city  missions  were  at  St.  Joseph  and  St.  Louis. 


Chapter  XXXI.]  MISSIONS.  3^3 

There  were  two  at  the  latter  city,  one  for  the  Germans  and  one 
for  the  Americans.  These  missions,  especially  the  one  for  Amer- 
icans, passed  through  many  struggles  and  reverses,  and  will  claim 
attention  in  another  chapter  of  this  history. 

In  Indiana  our  only  city  mission  was  at  Evansville.  It  grew 
steadily,  and  is  now  one  of  the  strongest  congregations  in  the 
church. 

In  Illinois  our  people  had  missions  at  Peoria  and  Alton.  At 
Peoria  a  church  was  built,  but  the  mission  failed  to  be  sustained, 
and  Cumberland  Presbyterians  have  no  congregation  there.  At 
Alton,  after  a  long  struggle,  a  self-sustaining  church  was  estab- 
lished. 

In  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  our  people  attempted  a  mission,  and  suc- 
ceeded in  building  a  house.  The  Rev.  F,  G.  Black,  the  mission- 
ary, spent  one  thousand  dollars  of  his  own  money  while  struggling 
to  establish  this  enterprise,  but  it  was  at  last  abandoned. 

In  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania,  there  was  a  Cumberland  Presby- 
terian mission.  A  good  house  was  built  and  paid  for.  Over  a 
hundred  members  were  gathered  into  the  congregation,  but  on 
account  of  its  isolated  condition  the  little  church  was  peculiarly 
tried  every  year.  As  our  people  had  no  churches  on  that  side  of 
the  Alleghenies,  this  congregation  had  no  tributaries.  Every 
member  that  moved  out  of  its  bounds  to  some  distant  part  of  the 
city  was  lost,  and  those  who  rented  houses  near  the  church  could 
always  find  in  the  neighborhood  a  church  of  the  same  denomina- 
tion to  which  they  had  before  belonged.  There  was  thus  a  con- 
stant drain  on  the  membership.  This  forlorn  outpost  was  finally 
abandoned. 

In  Texas  there  were  missions  at  Austin,  Jefferson,  and  San  An- 
tonio. The  first  two  were  in  due  time  self-sustaining;  the  last, 
after  being  long  abandoned,  has  in  recent  years  been  revived. 

During  this  period  there  were  successful  missions  at  Little 
Rock,  Arkansas;  Corinth,  Mississippi;  Waukon,  Iowa;  and  Shelby- 
ville,  Tennessee.  All  these  are  now  self-sustaining  churches.  To 
the  mission  at  Burlington,  Iowa,  the  church  paid  more  money  than 
to  any  other  city  mission  except  St.  Louis.  In  spite  of  this  large 
outlay  the  work  there  was  an  entire  failure. 


324  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  iv. 

There  were  missions  in  various  smaller  towns,  which  can  not 
be  enumerated  here.  City  missions  were  a  prominent  feature  of  the 
work  of  the  church  in  this  period.  During  former  periods  towns 
and  cities  had  generally,  from  the  necessities  of  the  case,  been 
shunned.  In  spite  of  losses  and  failures  the  city  mission  work 
during  this  period  yielded  permanent  results  of  good,  far  outvaluing 
the  labor  or  the  cost. 

In  1834,'  under  what  he  considered  divine  leadings,  the  Rev. 
David  Lowry  undertook  a  mission  to  the  Winnebago  Indians.  He 
had  no  church  appointment,  but  he  had  pledges  from  the  Indian 
agent  that  the  usual  aid  from  the  United  States  government  would 
be  given  him  if  he  established  a  school  among  the  Winnebagoes. 
Mr.  Ivowry  first  made  his  home  at  Prairie  du  Chien.  On  his  arrival 
the  Indians  were  celebrating  a  funeral  Avith  drunken  orgies.  Naked 
savages  were  lying  prostrate  on  the  ground  and  some  of  them  howl- 
ing like  wolves.  Their  annuity  had  just  been  paid  them,  and  this 
enabled  them  to  buy  whisky.  The  missionary  says  he  felt  very 
much  like  he  had  imdertaken  to  evangelize  a  herd  of  wild  animals. 
The  agent  was  absent.  The  promised  school -buildings  were  not 
ready.  It  was  a  dark  day.  Mr.  Lowry  had  his  family  with  him, 
and  they  were  filled  with  dismay. 

The  inhabitants  of  the  town  of  Prairie  du  Chien  were  mostly 
French  Catholics,  but  Mr.  Lowry  says  they  were  but  little  better 
than  the  Winnebagoes.  At  first  the  Indians  would  not  allow  their 
children  to  attend  Mr.  Lowrj^'s  school.  His  first  session  was  with- 
out a  single  pupil.  But  with  unshaken  courage  and  unyielding 
devotion  the  missionar>^  persevered.  In  1837,  after  three  }-ears  of 
apparently  fruitless  struggle,  the  obstacles  began  to'  yield.  That 
vear  the  school  had  forty-two  pupils.  Mr.  Lowry' s  preaching  also 
bore  good  fruit.  Doubtless  many  converts  of  this  mission  greeted 
him  when  he  passed  from  earth  to  dwell  by  the  side  of  the  river  of 
life. 

In  1844  Mr.  Lowrv-  lost  his  appointment.  He  and  others  attrib- 
uted this  loss  to  the  intrigues  of  Catholic  priests.  In  1846  his 
appointment  was  restored  and  he  immediately  returned  to  his  mis- 

'  The  arrangements  for  the  school  were  made  in  1832,  and  a  Cumberland  Pres- 
byterian elder,  General  Street,  appointed  agent. 


Chapter  XXXI.]  MISSIONS.  335 

sion.  An  official  report  of  the  Indian  sub-agent,  J.  E.  Fletcher, 
after  sketching  the  condition  of  the  tribe,  their  crops,  etc.,  speaks 
thus  of  the  school : 

The  Winnebago  school  is  in  successful  operation  under  the  superin- 
tendence of  the  Rev.  David  Lowry.  I  have  frequently  visited  the  school 
and  inspected  the  boarding  and  clothing  departments.  I  find  that  the 
children  in  attendance  are  well  supplied  with  wholesome  food,  and  are 
suitably  clothed.  Neatness,  order,  and  cheerfulness  are  apparent 
throughout  the  establishment.  Mr.  Lowry's  management  of  the  school 
is,  I  think,  judicious.  Patience  and  kindness  are  substituted  for  passion 
and  severity.  The  general  system  of  education  adopted  in  the  school  is 
similar  to  the  system  ordinarily  adopted  in  primary  schools.  The  capac- 
ity of  the  scholars  to  learn  is  similar  to  that  evinced  by  white  children 
of  the  same  age.  The  progress  of  the  scholars  attending  the  school  is 
not  equal  to  the  progress  usually  made  by  white  children.  This  differ- 
ence on  the  part  of  the  Indian  is  accounted  for  by  his  irregularity  of 
attendance  and  the  influences  to  which  he  is  subject  when  not  at  school. 

Believing  that  a  practical  knowledge  of  agriculture,  and  the  for- 
mation of  industrious  habits  is  to  the  Indian  youth  of  at  least  equal 
importance  to  the  acquirement  of  literary  knowledge,  I  recommended  to 
the  principal  of  the  school  that  the  boys  of  suitable  age  should  be  em- 
ployed in  manual  labor  a  part  of  every  day.  The  plan  met  his  approba- 
tion, and  was  acted  upon,  and  it  is  understood  that  manual  labor,  both  in 
the  field  and  in  the  shop,  will  be  a  part  of  the  system  of  instruction  in 
the  school.  There  are  at  present  three  female  and  two  male  teachers 
employed.  If  it  was  considered  probable  that  the  Winnebagoes  would 
long  occupy  their  present  home,  I  should  deem  it  my  duty  respectfully 
to  suggest  to  the  department  the  expediency  of  establishing  branches 
of  this  school  or  the  establishment  of  additional  schools  at  a  point  on  the 
Iowa  River,  and  also  on  the  Red  Cedar.  Three  bands  of  the  Winne- 
bagoes have  concentrated  on  the  east  fork  of  the  Red  Cedar  and  built 
the  best  village  in  the  nation,  and  have  upward  of  one  hundred  children 
of  a  suitable  age  to  attend  school. 

Mr.  Lowry,  in  his  official  report  to  the  United  States  Indian 
agent,  dated  Winnebago  school,  August  15,  1846,  says  : 

I  entered  on  the  duties  of  superintendent  of  the  Winnebago  school 
on  the  first  day  of  May  last.  Eighty-five  children  were  found  registered 
on  the  daily  list ;  but  as  usual  at  all  Indian  schools,  the  whole  number 
were  not  in  constant  attendance.  Twenty  new  scholars  have  been 
added  in  the  course  of  the  summer,  making  one  hundred  and  five  now 
connected  with  the  institution. 


326  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  iv. 

This  report  goes  on  to  state  that  some  of  the  pupils  had  acquired 
"a  respectable  knowledge  of  figures,  geography,  etc.,"  and  were 
learning  to  write.  There  were  a  few  more  girls  than  boys  in 
attendance.  The  girls  were  taught  to  sew,  and  with  the  assistance 
of  the  lady  in  charge  made  all  the  clothes  worn  at  the  school, 
while  the  boys  were  "called  out  at  regular  periods  to  labor  on  the 
farm."  Mr.  Lowry  stated  that  the  condition  of  the  Indians  was 
greatly  improved  through  the  influence  of  the  school.  They  owned 
more  property,  their  physical  sufferings  were  much  diminished, 
there  was  a  growing  disposition  to  cultivate  the  soil,  they  employed 
horses  to  draw  plows  and  wagons.  The  missionary  adds  :  ' '  They 
would  live  in  houses,  but  have  been  discouraged  by  the  govern- 
ment, owing  to  their  unsettled  state, ' '  He  goes  on  to  show  that 
the  great  obstacle  to  the  progress  of  the  tribes  was  the  want  of  a 
permanent  home.  This  state  of  uncertainty  prevented  the  erection 
of  additional  buildings  needed  by  the  school.  The  pupils  returning 
to  their  houseless  and  homeless  people,  found  their  education  of  but 
little  service.  Mr.  Lowry  spoke  of  "whisky  and  intercourse  with 
the  whites"  as  "  the  stereotyped  curse  of  the  red  man,"  and  insisted 
that  a  people  could  not  be  raised  from  a  savage  to  a  civilized  and 
happy  state  without  religion.  He  suggested  ' '  the  propriety  of  send- 
ing off,  with  the  consent  of  their  parents,  a  few  of  the  most  prom- 
ising children  of  the  school,  to  complete  their  education  in  some 
religious  community. ' '  He  also  suggested  the  purchase  of  a  print- 
ing-press for  the  use  of  the  school. 

In  May,  1848,  Mr.  Lowry  published  in  the  Cumberland  Presby- 
terian a  brief  history  of  this  mission,  showing  the  evils  of  the 
liquor  traffic  among  the  Indians  and  the  wrongs  they  suffered  from 
the  vices  and  greed  of  the  whites.  He  says  :  ' '  Sixteen  years  ago 
a  government  school  was  established  among  these  Indians,  under 
the  care  of  a  Cumberland  Presbyterian  minister.  Buildings  were 
erected  on  the  west  side  of  the  Mississippi,  in  the  interior  of  the 
country,  teachers  were  employed,  land  plowed  and  fenced  for 
them,  and  other  advantages  held  out  to  induce  them  to  settle  in  the 
vicinity.  In  1837  they  ceded  all  their  country  east  of  the  Missis- 
sippi to  the  government,  and  in  1840,  according  to  the  stipulations 
of  the  treaty  made  at  that  time,  new  buildings  were  erected  and 


Chapter  XXXI.]  MISSIONS.  327 

the  school  and  agency  removed  fifty  miles  farther  into  the  interior, 
that  the  Indians  might  be  farther  away  from  whisky  and  the  con- 
taminating vices  of  the  frontier.  It  was  not  long,  however,  before 
the  intervening  forests  and  prairies  began  to  be  filled  with  rapidly 
growing  settlements  of  whites.  Whisky  traders  soon  came  with 
their  red-stained  barrels  to  engage  in  their  murderous  trafiic." 
With  whisky  came  drunkenness  among  the  Indians  —  quarrels, 
fights  and  depredations.  The  people  of  Iowa  soon  began  to 
clamor  for  the  removal  of  the  Indians  from  their  boundaries.  The 
government  sent  a  commissioner,  and  the  Winnebagoes  were  told 
that  "the  Great  Father,  the  President,"  was  pained  to  hear  of 
their  difficulties  and  depredations  and  thought  his  red  children  too 
near  his  white  children,  and  wished  them  to  go  out  farther,  where 
game  was  plenty,  and  where  they  would  be  away  from  whisky  and 
could  live  in  peace.  It  was  several  years,  however,  before  these 
negotiations  were  successful.  At  last,  in  1846,  the  Indians  ceded 
all  their  lands  in  Iowa  to  the  government ;  but  the  government 
did  not  purchase  for  them  the  country  promised,  and  they  refused 
to  move. 

In  1848  the  treaty  was  enforced,  the  government  agreeing  to 
obtain  other  lands  for  the  Winnebagoes.  The  Indians  were  not 
satisfied  with  the  treaty,  and  it  took  something  like  military  force 
to  induce  them  to  accept  its  conditions.  A  letter  written  by  Mr. 
Lowry  from  Fort  Snelling,  to  his  son,  June  28,  1848,  shows  how 
reluctantly  this  treaty  was  complied  with,  and  what  embarrassments 
the  missionary  suffered  on  that  account.  This  letter  shows  that  Mr. 
Lowry' s  family,  with  other  white  families  living  among  the  Winne- 
bagoes, foreseeing  the  trouble  which  was  likely  to  result  from  an 
attempt  to  enforce  the  treaty,  removed  to  Fort  Snelling  before  the 
time  appointed  for  the  removal  of  the  Indians,  The  result  proved 
that  this  precaution  was  necessary.  The  Indians  refused  to  move, 
and  two  hundred  and  fifty  of  their  warriors  armed  themselves  for 
battle.  Sylvanus  Lowry  was  sent  for.  He  went  immediately  to  the 
scene  of  trouble  and  threw  himself  between  the  Indians  and  the  dra- 
goons. The  cry,  "shoot  him  down,"  was  heard,  but  he  continued 
his  appeal,  and  the  Indians  at  last  agreed  to  disperse.  Some  days 
of  disputing  followed,  and  then  they  took  up  their  line  of  march. 


328  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  iv. 

But  after  they  began  their  journey  they  held  a  council  and  a  large 
majority  declared  against  removing.  All  but  about  six  hundred 
refused  to  proceed.  The  great  majority  did  not  remove  until  forced 
to  do  so. 

Mr.  Lowry  and  his  son  often  interposed  to  prevent  bloodshed. 
He  followed  the  Indians  to  their  new  home  in  the  far  north-west. 
Here  he  again  opened  his  school  and  had  it  well  under  way  ;  but 
after  a  few  years  of  successful  labor  he  was  again  the  victim  of 
intrigues,  and  lost  his  appointment. 

Many  of  the  older  members  of  the  church  remember  with  what 
earnest  words  David  Lowry  used  to  plead  in  the  pulpit  for  the  per- 
ishing heathen.  The  years  sweep  on,  Lowry  has  gone  to  his  Father's 
house ;  a  generation  of  heathen  has  also  gone  to  eternity  since  those 
thrilling  appeals  were  made,  but  still  the  church  doles  out  its  poor 
little  pittance  of  men  and  money  to  Foreign  Missions.  And  yet  the 
thrilling  interest  at  stake  in  the  work  which  our  King  has  commis- 
sioned us  to  do  is  far  greater  than  all  the  earthly  interests  to  which 
men  are  so  ready  to  devote  their  money  and  their  lives.  "Go  ye 
into  all  the  world,  and  preach  the  gospel  to  every  creature. ' ' 

Two  noble  young  ladies,  members  of  the  Cumberland  Presby- 
terian church  in  Philadelphia,  went,  in  1853,  under  the  direction 
of  the  American  Board  of  Missions,  to  work  among  the  heathen. 
We  know  in  a  general  way  that  they  were  successful  missionaries, 
but  we  have  no  details  of  their  work.  They  both  belonged  to  that 
class  of  real  Christians  who  give  Christ  the  supremacy  in  all  things. 
Their  family  name  was  Diamont,  and  their  native  State  was  New 
Jersey. 

In  1854  David  Lowry  visited  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian 
Board  of  Missions  and  appealed  to  its  members  for  more  help  for 
the  Indians.  The  board  resolved  to  send  him  to  the  Indian 
country  on  a  tour  of  inspection,  clothing  him  with  authority  to 
appoint  missionaries  if  he  could  find  men  suitable  for  the  work. 
He  made  a  very  thorough  investigation  and  submitted  a  report  to 
the  board.     Some  extracts  from  this  report' are  here  appended  : 

I  traveled  several  hundred  miles  throuo^h  the  Choctaw  Nation  and 
preached  wherever  opportunity  offered.  The  Rev.  S.  Corley,  of  Texas, 
was  appointed  to  ride  and  oreach  in  this  countrv  one  half  of  his  time. 


Chapter  XXXI.]  MISSIONS.  329 

His  appointment  and  acceptance  are  herewith  submitted.  He  is  well 
known  among  the  Indians,  and  no  preacher  could  exert  a  stronger 
influence  over  them.  He  resides  within  thirty  miles  of  their  country, 
and  his  circuit  will  embrace  a  few  congregations  on  the  border  of  Texas, 
west  of  Red  River.  In  preaching  to  the  Indians  he  may  have  to  employ 
occasionally  an  interpreter,  and  in  view  of  such  contingency  his  appoint- 
ment permits  him  to  draw  on  the  board  for  a  sum  not  exceeding  fifty 
dollars.  Two  native  Cumberland  Presbyterian  preachers,  Israel  Folsom 
and  Payson  Wiliston,  have  been  appointed  to  ride  and  preach  as  exten- 
sively as  their  circumstances  will  permit,  and  report  to  the  board  quar- 
terly. Their  appointments  are  herewith  submitted.  Mr.  Folsom  is  an 
ordained  preacher,  and  his  ministerial  services  among  his  people  have 
been  greatly  blessed.  Mr.  Wiliston  is  a  licentiate  and  full  Indian.  He 
is  a  man  of  much  promise,  and  capable  of  doing  great  good  ;  but  he  is 
poor  and  has  a  family  depending  on  him,  and  can  not  preach  extensively 
without  aid  from  the  board.  He  was  in  debt  for  a  horse,  and  twenty 
dollars  of  missionary  funds  were  appropriated  to  liquidate  this  debt. 

Some  preparatory  steps  were  taken  for  the  purpose  of  establishing 
schools  and  permanent  missions  in  the  Indian  country,  but  no  final 
action  was  taken.  Although  it  is  desirable  to  locate  schools  for  the 
intellectual  improvement  of  the  Indians,  yet  my  conviction  is  that  itin- 
erant preaching  is  more  loudly  called  for  now  among  the  Choctaws 
than  any  other  service  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  church  can  render. 
Many  of  their  children  have  gone  through  the  ordinary  course  of  edu- 
cation at  the  schools  and  academies,  and  have  returned  to  their  homes 
without  any  deep  religious  impressions  and  are  now  entirely  destitute  of 
religious  instruction.  Their  former  teachers  (though  most  of  them 
ministers  of  the  gospel)  being  confined  to  their  schools,  can  not  follow 
them  with  the  word  of  life;  therefore,  unless  itinerants  can  be  intro- 
duced, it  is  difficult  to  see  how  they  can  be  brought  under  the  power  of 
the  gospel.  They  have  abandoned  the  heathen  religion,  but  they  have 
not  yet  embraced  Christianity,  but  it  is  believed  that  no  people  are  more 
accessible  to  the  truth  than  the  educated  Choctaws,  could  they  be  blessed 
with  a  zealous  ministry. 

Under  the  act  of  the  late  Choctaw  legislature,  ten  boys  were  sent 
by  me  to  Tennessee,  to  learn  trades,  and  one  came  on  his  own  responsi- 
bility to  study  law.  Six  of  these  boys  have  been  bound  as  apprentices  in 
Nashville  and  two  in  McMinnville.  One  is  preparing  for  the  ministry, 
and  another  has  been  put  to  school.  I  am  happy  to  learn  that  thus 
far  these  boys  are  well  pleased,  and  that  they  are  receiving  sympathy 
and  encouragement  in  the  communities  where  they  reside.  I  shall  con- 
fidently expect  another  company  of  boys  to  enter  the  university  in  the 
course  of  the  winter. 


330  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.      [Period  iv. 

Mr.  Lowry's  report  gives  also  a  brief  historj'  of  all  the  missions 
under  other  churches  throughout  the  Indian  country.  The  Cum- 
berland Presbyterian  Board  pressed  the  work  begun  by  Lowr>'. 
The  Rev.  R.  W.  Baker  was  added  to  the  corps  of  itinerant  preach- 
ers. He  proved  a  faithful  and  successful  missionary.  Corley  also 
was  a  true  and  noble  Christian  minister.  They  by  their  joint 
labors,  aided  by  the  Rev.  Israel  Folsom  and  other  native  preach- 
ers, brought  into  the  church  that  year  over  six  hundred  members. 

In  1855  Baker  was  placed  by  the  board  over  Armstrong  Acad- 
emy, Choctaw  Nation.  In  1859  this  school  had  one  hundred 
pupils.  Baker,  while  managing  this  mission  school,  still  kept  up 
his  preaching,  though  within  a  smaller  circle.  The  same  year  the 
board  resolved  to  have  a  school  for  the  Chickasaws.  This  was 
called  Burney  Academy.  Its  opening  was  delayed  by  the  tardiness 
of  the  builder.  The  Chickasaw  Nation  furnished  the  buildings, 
and  the  board  furnished  the  teachers.  The  Rev.  F.  D.  Piner  was 
appointed  the  first  superintendent.  In  1859  the  Rev.  R.  S.  Bell 
and  his  wife  were  sent  by  the  board  to  teach  the  Chickasaw  girls. 
Bell  remained  at  his  post  all  through  the  war,  though  all  help 
from  the  board  was  cut  off.  All  our  Indian  missionaries  were 
exposed  to  hardships,  but  perhaps  none  of  them  suffered  so  much 
as  R.  S.  Bell. 

Israel  Folsom  was  a  strong  man  and  a  genuine  Indian.  He 
manifested  a  most  touching  devotion  to  the  interests  of  his  people. 
The  writer  of  this  history  can  never  forget  his  last  interview  with 
him.  If  one  could  write  an  accent,  or  put  the  modulation  and  the 
emotional  vibrations  of  the  voice  into  a  written  sentence,  then 
might  the  full  meaning  of  Folsom' s  words  about  that  portion  of 
the  Indian  population  which  he,  with  flowing  tears,  said  was  rap- 
idly lapsing  back  into  barbarism  be  expressed  on  a  printed  page. 
One  of  his  appeals  to  the  board  deserv^es  a  place  here.  The  letter 
is  addressed  to  the  secretary  of  the  Board  of  IMissions. 

Near  Fort  Washita,  Choctaw  Nation,  ) 

December  30,   1S52.  j 

Brother  Isaac  Shook: — I  hope  you  will  not  become  tired  of  me. 

Will  you  once  more  listen  to  my  words  as  I  speak  ?     A  child  starving 

for  want  of  bread  can  not  be  satisfied  with  any  thing  short  of  it.     Here 

are  people  starving  for  the  lack  of  the  bread  of  life,  and  they  will  not 


Chapter  XXXI.]  MISSIONS.  331 

be  satisfied  with  any  tiling  else.  I  have  been  called  upon  again  and 
again  to  go  and  preach  to  the  people  living  twenty,  forty,  eighty,  and 
one  hundred  and  forty  miles  off.  Not  that  I  was  any  better  than  other 
preachers,  but  they  hunger  and  thirst  after  the  bread  of  life,  and  many 
of  them  tell  me  they  want  a  Cumberland  Presbyterian  minister  to 
preach  to  them.  They  reject  no  minister  of  any  name.  They  would 
be  glad  to  hear  any  preaching.  I  am  speaking  for  those  who  spoke  to 
me  desiring  to  hear  Cumberland  Presbyterian  preaching  as  their  choice. 
It  has  been  impossible  for  me  to  go  and  preach  to  them.  We  want 
help.  We  need  it  right  now.  Can  you  not  send  us  one  young  minis- 
ter, full  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  to  preach  to  these  people?  By  this  way 
he  could  acquaint  himself  with  the  real  wants  of  this  Nation,  and  fur- 
nish your  board  with  important  information  in  reference  to  establishing 
a  mission. 

I  have  a  complaint  in  my  body  which  disables  me  from  riding  out 
and  preaching.  I  also  have  a  large  family  to  provide  for.  It  is  out  of 
my  power  to  labor  as  much  as  I  did  formerly,  and  I  do  need  help.  Can 
you  do  any  thing  for  us?  I  believe  you  can;  I  believe  you  are  willing. 
The  prayers  of  a  righteous  man  availeth  much,  and  through  your 
prayers  we  may  expect  help  in  due  time.  Send  a  missionary  to  my 
house,  and  let  him  make  my  house  his  home;  he  will  be  boarded  and  have 
his  washing  done  for  nothing,  and  his  horse  fed  free.  And  I  will  also 
instruct  him  in  acquiring  the  Choctaw  language,  that  he  may  preach  in 
the  native  tongue. 

In  going  out  to  preach  through  different  parts  of  the  country  where 

he  is  known  as  a  preacher,  the  people  will  not  charge  him.     But  there 

are  some  who  care  very  little  for  the  gospel,  that  would  no  doubt  charge. 

The  missionary  sent  should  have  a  good  English  education,  at  least.    .   . 

Yours  in  Christ,  Israel  Folsom. 

Here  is  a  letter  from  an  Indian  chief  to  the  Board  of  Missions: 

Choctaw  Nation,  May  13,  1853. 

Brother  Shook:  —  I  never  saw  you,  but  have  often  heard  of  you. 
It  would  give  me  much  satisfaction  to  see  and  speak  with  you  about  the 
salvation  of  my  people.  I  understand  you  have  labored  to  send  a  man 
among  my  people  to  teach  them  the  way  of  life.  I  thank  you.  I  trust 
God  will  bless  your  labors.  I  once  thought  of  going  to  the  General 
Assembly,  but  have  failed. 

The  word  of  God  says,  "The  Son  of  man  is  come  to  seek  and  to 
save  that  which  was  lost."  If  any  could  be  said  to  be  lost  whom  the 
Son  of  man  came  to  seek  and  to  save,  I  think  the  poor  red  man  may 
truly  be  placed  among  them.  God  did  not  reject  us,  but  came  to  seek 
and  save  us.     We  hope  that  his  friends  will  not  reject  us.      I  hope  that 


332  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  iv. 

your  board  will  soon  send  a  man  in  the  name  of  Christ  to  come,  and 
seek  and  save  the  poor  lost  red  man.  Our  foes  are  many  and  powerful. 
Our  woes  are  heavy  on  us.  We  are  distressed  on  every  side.  We  want 
friends  and  help.  Shall  we  find  them  in  the  Cumberland  church?  It 
seems  now  that  the  last  and  only  hope  for  aid  to  be  relied  upon  is  the 
church  of  Christ.  Shall  we  hope  that  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian 
church  will  send  us  help.?  Brother,  pardon  me  for  the  liberty  I  take  to 
write  to  you.     I  desire  only  the  good  of  my  people. 

Your  brother  in  Christ,  George  Folsom, 

Chief  of  Pushimataha  District. 

Besides  the  earnest  old  Choctaw,  Israel  Folsom,  who  was  the  first 
native  Cumberland  Presbyterian  preacher,  and  to  whom  the  INIis- 
sionar}^  Board  gave  some  small  salar\',  several  other  natives  also 
entered  the  ministry  during  this  period.  Several  Indians,  both 
Chickasaws  and  Chocktaws,  came  to  our  church  schools  in  Tennes- 
see. Among  them  there  was  occasionally  found  a  young  man  pre- 
paring for  the  ministry. 

Though  these  missions  were  more  recent  than  Robert  Bell's  in 
Mississippi,  yet  none  of  the  missionaries  preserved  for  us  journals 
or  other  data  for  a  full  history,  as  Robert  Bell  did.  We  see  now 
only  the  fruits  of  their  toil,  in  native  preachers,  churches,  and 
presbyteries. 

Besides  the  regular  native  preachers  who  co-operated  with  Corley 
and  Baker,  they  also  called  to  their  aid  a  considerable  number  of 
Christian  laymen  from  the  native  churches.  These  traveled  with 
them  during  "the  camp-meeting  season  "  each  year.  One  of  these 
whom  they  called  Frazier,  was  especially  valuable  to  the  mission- 
aries. He  could  interpret  for  them.  Occasionally  when  translating 
the  preacher's  words  he  would  break  forth  in  an  exhortation  of  his 
own.  Mr.  Corley,  who  was  more  dependent  on  the  interpreter 
than  any  of  the  other  missionaries,  became  greatly  attached  to 
Frazier.  The  board  often  called  for  more  men  for  this  work,  but 
failed  to  get  half  the  number  called  for.  Still  the  work  done  and 
the  results  obtained  were  of  great  and  lasting  importance. 

Though  the  voice  of  ever}^  General  Assembly  recommended 
co-operation  with  the  American  Board  in  foreign  work,  }'et  there  was 
a  growing  feeling  in  favor  of  having  our  own  foreign  missionaries 
under  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  Board.     It  was  argued  that  the 


Chapter  XXXI.]  MISSIONS.  333 

strength  of  the  church  could  not  be  brought  fully  into  service  for  the 
Master  until  our  people  engaged  directly  in  the  foreign  work.  It 
was  said  also  that  the  church  had  no  means  of  knowing  what  its 
congregations  were  doing  for  Foreign  Missions,  that  it  was  not 
known  whether  our  people  were  asleep  or  awake.  It  was  urged, 
too,  that  the  church  and  the  ministry  needed  the  inspiration  and 
the  training  which  nothing  but  work  in  the  foreign  field  could 
give.  These  and  many  similar  arguments  finally  prevailed.  But 
the  relations  with  the  American  Board  were  not  at  once  severed. 
Our  congregations  were  left  free  to  contribute  to  that  board.  For 
many  years  our  people  continued  to  send  help  ta  the  foreign  work 
through  that  channel. 

The  first  Cumberland  Presbyterian  missionary  to  a  distant  land 
was  Edmond  Weir,  whose  work  was  in  Liberia,  Africa.  This  mis- 
sion was  opened  providentially.  Weir  was  a  young  colored  man, 
who  was  licensed  to  preach  and  afterward  ordained  by  Anderson 
Presbytery,  in  Kentucky.  Though  a  slave,  he  had  succeeded  in 
securing  a  good  education.  The  American  colonization  move- 
ment was  then  enlisting  many  in  all  the  Southern  States.  Many 
slaves  were  manumitted  and  sent  to  Liberia.  Among  these  were 
two  older  brothers  of  Edmond  Weir,  who  had  secured  a  good  edu- 
cation. They  studied  law,  and  on  their  arrival  in  Liberia  entered 
the  practice  of  this  profession.  Edmond  Weir  wanted  to  go  to 
Africa  as  a  preacher  of  the  gospel.  He  was  manumitted  and  sent 
to  Liberia  for  that  purpose.  Through  the  influence  of  his  brothers 
he  was  elected  sheriff.  From  this  office  he  secured  a  living  and 
preached  without  salary.  In  1857,  five  years  after  his  removal  to 
Africa,  he  came  back  to  America  in  order  to  secure  missionary  help. 
He  wanted  money  and  men.  The  board  commissioned  him  as  mis- 
sionary, and  sent  him  out  among  the  churches  to  raise  funds  to 
build  a  house  of  worship. 

The  Watchman  and  Eva7igelist^  published  at  Louisville,  Ken- 
tucky, mentions  Weir's  visit  to  that  city,  and  says  that  a  large 
audience  greeted  him  at  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  church,  and 
that  his  address  was  listened  to  with  great  attention,  and  that  a  lib- 
eral collection  was  taken  up  for  the  mission.  The  ladies  of  the  First 
Cumberland  Presbyterian  church  of  Louisville  organized  a  society 


334  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.      [Period  iv. 

' '  for  the  purpose  of  affording  such  aid  as  the  Liberia  Mission  might 
need  in  the  way  of  clothing  and  school  books." 

The  Board  of  Missions,  through  its  president,  the  Rev.  F.  R.  Cos- 
sitt,  published  a  stirring  appeal  to  the  ministers  and  members  of  the 
church  in  behalf  of  this  mission.  In  this  appeal  the  board  urged 
upon  our  people  the  force  of  Christ's  command,  "Go  ye  into  all 
the  world  and  preach  the  gospel; "  and  pointed  out  the  cr^'ing  need 
for  missionary  work  in  Africa,  declaring  that  no  church  which 
neglected  the  Lord's  great  commission  could  long  live  and  prosper. 
It  called  attention  to  the  providential  circumstances  which  led  the 
board  to  undertake  this  mission.  On  going  to  Liberia,  Mr.  Weir 
"  had  found  a  number  of  people  who  had  been  Cumberland  Presby- 
terians before  their  removal  from  the  United  States,  While  some 
of  these  had  joined  other  churches,  there  were  many  who  had  pre- 
ferred to  wait  for  the  providence  of  God  to  open  the  way  for  them 
to  unite  with  a  church  of  their  own  faith.  This  mission  seemed  to 
be  God's  appointed  means  of  opening  the  way.  It  was  proposed  to 
establish  the  mission  at  Cape  IVIount,  a  thriving  sea-coast  town,  near 
which  Weir  had  settled,  and  where  there  was  no  church.  The 
board  stated  in  its  appeal  that  the  missionary  had  already  received 
six  hundred  dollars  for  his  building,  and  that  this  was  not  quite 
half  the  sum  needed. 

He  was  finally  successful  in  raising  the  money,  but  the  board's 
call  asking  those  who  owned  colored  Cumberland  Presbyterian 
preachers  to  set  them  free  so  that  they  might  be  sent  with  Weir  to 
Liberia,  was  not  successful.  Weir  returned  alone,  and  amid  many 
discouragements,  carried  on  his  solitary  work  in  Africa.  At  one 
time  he  received  a  request  from  the  king  of  a  neighboring  tribe  to 
send  Mrs.  Weir  to  be  governess  for  the  king's  daughters.  The 
proposition  was  not  according  to  Mr.  Weir's  fancies.  IMrS.  Weir 
had  her  heart  set  on  other  things,  as  an  extract  from  a  letter  writ- 
ten by  her  to  Mrs.  Hunter  will  show.  In  this  letter  she  describes 
the  kind  of  clothing  needed  by  the  boys  in  the  mission — "  trousers 
and  shirts  made  of  any  kind  of  cloth."  She  speaks  of  her  desire 
to  help  the  native  girls  as  well  as  the  boys,  and  of  the  pleasure  she 
would  take  in  making  clothes  for  these  poor  heathen  children  if  the 
material  could  be  furnished  her.     She  adds  with  touching  simplicity : 


Chapter  XXXI.]  MISSIONS.  335 

' '  You  do  not  know  how  glad  I  am  to  help  in  the  work  of  God 
among  the  heathen  in  this  dark  part  of  the  world."  Her  letter 
continues: 

My  health  is  indifferent,  and  has  been  for  some  time.  I  need  the 
prayers  of  all  the  praying  friends  in  America.  I  expect  to  open  a  reg- 
ular day  school  for  the  native  children.  All  that  I  ask  of  my  friends  is 
a  few  common  books.  I  beg  the  friends  not  to  deny  me  these.  I  know 
that  I  can  't  do  this  work  of  myself,  but  I  know  that  God  can  and  will 
help  me.  He  has  helped  me.  About  one  year  and  six  months  ago  we 
had  a  small  boy  given  to  us  out  of  the  Goler  country.  When  he  came 
he  had  no  clothing,  and  I  gave  him  a  piece  of  calico  to  put  around  him- 
self; he  went  so  about  a  month.  I  could  not  bear  that.  Mr.  Weir  told 
me  to  take  some  of  his  garments  and  make  clothes  for  the  boy.  I  did 
so.  We  named  him  Willa.  It  was  a  long  time  before  I  could  get  him 
to  understand.  I  tried  and  tried  until  I  thought  my  work  was  in  vain. 
But  at  last  his  stammering  tongue  was  loosed.  On  the  26th  of  July  was 
our  day  of  celeba"ation,  and  we  also  examined  our  Sabbath  School. 
Willa  was  in  the  midst  and  recited  some  verses  which  he  had  com- 
mitted to  memory. 

The  voice  of  the  board  was  in  favor  of  China  as  a  field  in  which 
to  begin  work  for  the  heathen.  To  this,  however,  there  was  one 
exception.  Dr.  Cossitt,  while  saying  nothing  against  other  fields, 
kept  pleading  the  cause  of  Japan.  Meantime  four  young  men  in 
Cumberland  University  offered  themselves  simultaneously  to  the 
board  for  the  foreign  work.  The  General  Assembly  was  consulted, 
but  there  was  unaccountable  delay.  These  four  young  men  made 
other  engagements.  Then  the  Rev.  J.  C.  Armstrong,  a  graduate 
of  the  theological  school  at  Lebanon,  Tennessee,  felt  special  im- 
pressions to  go  to  Turkey  as  a  missionary.  In  1859  ^^^  offered 
himself  to  the  Board  of  Missions  for  this  special  work.  His  offer 
was  accepted,  and  the  board  sent  him  out  as  an  agent  to  raise  funds 
for  his  mission.  He  was  quite  successful  in  this  agency  and  by  the 
General  Assembly  in  May,  i860,  he  was  specially  consecrated  to  his 
work  as  a  missionary  to  Turkey.  The  story  of  this  mission  belong3 
to  the  next  period  of  this  history. 


336  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  iv. 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 


PLANTING  THE  CHURCH  IN  THE  NORTH-WEST. 
IOWA  AND  OTHER  FIELDS. 

Through  ways  we  have  not  known, 

We  pass  yet  not  alone 

From  height  to  height, 

To  dwell  with  Him  in  light. 

The  Lord  shall  lead  us  on. 

— Miss  Lathbury. 

THE  beginnings  of  the  work  of  Cumberland  Presbyterians 
in  Iowa  before  the  close  of  the  third  period  (1842)  were  so 
small  that  it  has  seemed  best  to  reserve  the  history  of  the  origin  of 
the  church  in  that  State  for  this  chapter. 

When  David  Lowry,  in  1834,  planted  his  mission  in  Iowa, 
the  whole  of  that  country  except  some  small  settlements  was 
occupied  by  Indians,  though  treaties  for  its  cession  had  been 
agreed  upon.  There  were  no  Protestant  churches  on  Iowa  soil. 
At  the  points  where  Indian  agents  were  stationed  there  were  United 
States  troops  and  some  French  families. 

Mr.  Lowry  -organized  the  first  church  of  our  people,  and  the 
first  Protestant  church  in  Iowa,  in  1834.  It  was  composed  of  sol- 
diers, officers  of  the  United  States  army,  government  employes, 
and  a  few  Indians.  When  the  Indians  and  soldiers  were  removed 
that  was  the  end  of  the  organization. 

Iowa  was  organized  as  a  separate  Territory'  with  its  own  Terri- 
torial government  in  1838.  Three  years  before  this  a  Cumberland 
Presbyterian  minister,  the  Rev.  Joseph  Howard,  settled  among  the 
emigrants  in  Iowa.  The  next  year.  May,  1836,  the  Rev.  Cyrus 
Haynes  traveled  in  this  country  and  organized  a  church  in  Mr. 
Howard's  house.  Counting  Mr.  Lowr^^'s  organization  at  the  mis- 
sion, this  church  in  Mr.  Howard's  house  was  the  second  Cumber- 
land Presbyterian  congregation  in  Iowa.     At  the  organization  of 


Chapter  XXXII.]  ThE   NORTH-WEST.  337 

this  church  Mr.  Haynes  baptized  Mr.  Howard's  infant  son.  That 
son  is  now  the  Rev.  J.  S.  Howard,  of  Oxford,  Mississippi. 

In  1853  ^^^  Rev.  J.  G.  White  was  laboring  in  Iowa  as  an  inde- 
pendent evangelist,  that  is  independent  of  any  salary  from  church 
boards.  The  first  camp-meeting  of  which  mention  is  made  was 
held  by  him  and  B.  B.  Bonham,  August  1843,  ^^  ^t.  Pleasant. 
Thirteen  professions  were  reported. 

Like  all  the  pioneer  congregations  in  the  new  Territories,  each 
of  these  Iowa  Cumberland  Presbyterian  churches  embraced  a  large 
area,  requiring  several  preaching  places.  In  1844  the  Sangamon 
Synod  ordered  J.  G.  White,  B.  B.  Bonham,  Joseph  Howard,  and  J. 
M.  Stockton  to  constitute  the  Iowa  Presbytery.  In  1846  there 
were  nine  congregations  represented  in  this  presbytery. 

In  1848  the  Rev.  Neil  Johnson  rode  the  circuit  in  Iowa,  and 
received  from  the  settlers  two  hundred  and  fifteen  dollars  for  his 
services.  There  were  then  six  ordained  ministers  (one  had  been 
deposed),  and  twelve  congregations  in  Iowa  Presbyter\'. 

All  through  this  early  period  there  were  in  Iowa  many  Mormons 
and  Catholics,  Ruffianism  was  everywhere.  Whisky  and  pistols, 
outlaws  and  murderers,  mingled  with  the  heterogeneous  mass  of 
emigrants.  It  required  preachers  with  sterling  courage  to  make 
their  way  in  the  midst  of  such  a  population.  Men  like  J.  G. 
White  seemed  to  enjoy  such  hardships  and  perils.  The  Rev.  John 
Cameron  and  the  Rev.  Wm.  Lynn  are  also  mentioned  among  the 
pioneers  of  Iowa,'  but  no  facts  or  incidents  connected  with  their 
work  have  been  secured.  The  Rev  Benjamin  Hall  was  among  the 
successful  laborers  in  that  field. 

It  was  a  favorite  scheme  of  David  Lowry  to  concentrate  in  Iowa, 
Wisconsin,  and  Minnesota  a  strong  home  missionar>^  force.  One 
of  the  warmest  debates  ever  heard  in  the  rooms  of  the  Missionary 
Board  at  Lebanon,  Tennessee,  was  on  that  question.  That  debate  is 
mentioned  in  Dr.  Richard  Beard's  diary,  and  he  speaks  in  terms  of 
the  deepest  mortification  and  regret  about  the  failure  of  Mr.  Low- 
ry's  plans.  Several  of  his  letters,  written  to  Lowr}^,  on  this  sub- 
ject are  preserved. 

'The  Rev.  R.  A.  Ferguson's  MS.  Ferguson  himself  has  spent  most  of  his  life 
in  that  field. 

22 


338  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  iv. 

In  1856  the  board  commissioned  the  Rev.  J.  C.  Armstrong  to 
go  as  missionary  to  the  North-west.  It  was  Mr.  Lowry's  wish  that 
the  missionary  should  begin  his  work  at  Prairie  du  Chien.  Taking 
letters  of  introduction,  this  young  man,  just  out  of  the  theological 
school,  set  out  for  his  first  j&eld  of  labor.  The  Rev.  J.  M.  B.  Roach, 
who  was  appointed  to  accompany  him,  failed  in  health,  and  Arm- 
strong went  alone.  On  his  arrival  at  Prairie  du  Chien,  he  found 
little  but  ruins.  The  town  and  Fort  Crawford  were  gone.  The 
church  where  General  Zachary  Taylor  had  regularly  attended  Mr. 
Lowry's  preaching  was  gone.     Only  a  few  settlers  remained. 

A  citizen  of  Iowa,  named  P.  C.  Balsinger,  was  a  sporting  gentle- 
man, who  kept  race-horses,  and  who  was  wealthy.  Armstrong  had 
a  letter  of  introduction  to  C.  C.  Balsinger,  and,  supposing  this  per- 
son to  be  the  one  intended,  he  presented  his  letter.  Mr.  Balsinger 
read  it  with  a  look  of  scorn  and  wrath,  then  tossed  it  back  to  Arm- 
strong, saying:  "Sir,  I  am  not  the  man;  this  man  lives  away 
down  on  Turkey  River."  Armstrong,  after  some  further  conver- 
sation with  him,  set  out  for  Turkey  River.  He  found  the  right 
Balsinger  this  time,  and  met  a  most  cordial  welcome.  This  man 
was  the  father  of  the  horse-racer,  and  was  a  Pennsylvanian  who 
had  been  converted  at  one  of  John  Morgan's  meetings. 

The  missionary  appointed  a  camp-meeting  at  Mr.  Balsinger' s. 
When  this  meeting  began  the  races  at  Colesburg  were  going  on. 
Great  crowds  of  people  passed  the  encampment,  going  to  the  races. 
Armstrong,  though  without  ministerial  assistance,  went  bravely 
on  with  the  daily  services.  Monday,  the  fourth  day  of  the  meet- 
ing, a  strange  scene  was  witnessed.  Loaded  wagons  began  coming 
in  from  Colesburg,  and  kept  coming.  All  these  wagons  brought 
tents,  provisions,  and  families,  coming  to  attend  the  camp-meeting. 
Among  others  who  came  was  the  sporting  gentleman,  P.  C.  Balsin- 
ger, with  his  family.  When  the  call  for  mourners  was  made,  !\Ir. 
Balsinger,  the  horse-racer,  rose  and  made  a  talk.  He  said  he  had 
been  under  conviction  ever  since  he  read  Armstrong's  letter  of  in- 
troduction, and  was  now  determined  to  seek  his  soul's  salvation. 
Then,  turninsr  to  his  seven  sons  who  had  come  with  him  to  the 
camp-meeting,  he  asked  the  people  to  pray  for  him  and  his  boys. 
He  found  the  Savior  that  day,  and  his  conversion  gave  new  life  to 


Chapter  XXXII.]  ThE   NoRTH-WEST.  339 

the  meetings.  A  great  revival  followed.  The  converted  horse-racer 
was  a  man  of  great  liberality.  Each  day  he  would  mount  the  pulpit 
and  invite  everybody  to  come  and  eat  with  him  at  his  tent. 

Out  of  this  meeting  grew  the  Hopewell  church,  which  Arm- 
strong organized,  making  P.  C.  Balsinger  an  elder  therein.  This 
elder  made  a  large-hearted  and  faithful  worker  for  Jesus.  At  this 
meeting  the  wife,  daughter,  and  two  sons  of  a  Roman  Catholic 
were  converted.  Almost  at  the  risk  of  their  lives  by  the  enraged 
drunken  husband  and  father,  they  joined  the  Cumberland  Presby- 
terian church. 

On  an  Indian  pathway,  at  some  springs  in  the  prairie,  there  had 
grown  up  a  little  village  called  Waukon.  Thither  Armstrong  next 
directed  his  steps.  His  work  there  was  owned  of  Heaven,  and 
many  souls  were  converted.  In  September,  1856,  he  organized  tke 
Waukon  church  with  thirty-one  members.  When  the  missionar>^ 
left  this  field  in  1859,  Waukon  congregation  had  built  a  house  of 
worship,  and  paid  for  it. 

In  July,  1857,  through  Armstrong's  importunities,  the  Rev.  P.  H. 
Crider  was  sent  by  the  Missionary  Board  to  his  assistance,  Arm- 
strong guaranteeing  missionary  money  enough  from  Iowa  to  meet 
the  salary.  In  this  arrangement  his  trust  in  the  pioneers  was  not 
disappointed.  The  following  letter  gives  a  glimpse  of  Mr.  Arm- 
strong's labors  in  this  field: 

Waukon,  Iowa,  Sept.  15th,  1S56. 

The  prospects  are  still  bright  here.  My  strength  failed  after  I  wrote 
last,  and  I  closed  the  meetings.  But  as  the  interest  was  still  ^reat  in  the 
town,  I  afterward  resumed  the  work,  and  we  had  meetings  four  nio-hts 
resulting  in  five  conversions,  making  in  all  twenty-nine.  Our  little 
band,  organized  the  21st  of  August,  now  numbers  forty-four  members. 
Owing  to  the  want  of  a  house,  we  have  not  had  our  meetings  regularly, 
but  will  resume  them  again  to-nio-ht. 

On  Thursday  next  I  will  start  again  for  Colesburg,  sixty  miles  dis- 
tant, and  will  hold  a  meeting  in  that  town 

Waukon  is  improving  very  rapidly.  Our  Sabbath-school  is  ably 
conducted.  The  number  in  attendance  yesterday  was  114,  with  increas- 
ing interest.  The  Maine  Law  is  enforced  to  the  letter  in  town.  The 
Temperance  Association  has  200  members.  We  have  a  joint  stock  of 
seven  thousand  dollars  to  enforce  the  Liquor  Law.  Nearly  sixty  houses 
were  built  in  all  in  1856. 


340  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  iv. 

Colesburg  is  a  larger  town  than  Waukon,  and  much  older,  but 
Satan  has  had  almost  supreme  dominion  in  that  community.  The 
Protestant  churches  there  are  not  much  more  than  a  name.  They  have 
been  daubed  with  untempered  mortar.  The  truth  startles  them,  enrag- 
ing some,  and  breaking  down  many.  Members  of  the  different  churches 
were  seen  crowding  to  the  anxious  seat,  and  crying  for  mercy  at  our  late 
revival.  Pray  for  us,  for  we  are  a  needy  few,  often  assailed  and  perse- 
cuted. J.  C.  Armstrong. 

In  1857,  Armstrong  and  Crider,  and  the  Rev.  Joshua  Loughran, 
of  Wisconsin,  organized  the  Colesburg  Presbytery,  extending  from 
forty  degrees  north  latitude  to  the  North  Pole.  In  1858  the  Rev. 
D.  A.  Houghton  came  into  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  church 
from  the  Congregationalists,  and  took  charge  of  the  upper  Iowa 
mission. 

In  these  missions  the  pioneer  preachers  suffered  many  priva- 
tions, and  were  often  exposed  to  danger.  Once  Armstrong  was  shot 
at  while  in  the  pulpit  preaching.  At  a  camp-meeting  a  mob  came 
to  kill  him,  but  others  gathered  to  his  defense  and  he  was  unhurt. 
He  says  he  often  went  where  there  was  danger  of  being  killed,  but 
God  took  care  of  him.  He  was  never  harmed.  The  pioneers  con- 
tributed liberally  to  his  support. 

In  Iowa  at  this  time  (1886)  there  is  one  small  Cumberland  Pres- 
byterian synod  composed  of  three  small  presbyteries,  with  an  aggre- 
gate of  seventeen  ordained  ministers  and  six  licentiates,  but  no 
candidates.  In  that  field,  and  everywdiere,  the  perpetuation  and 
growth  of  the  church  demand  that  the  money  and  the  prayers  of 
our  people  be  devoted  to  raising  up  a  home  supply  of  preachers. 

There  have  been  Cumberland  Presbyterian  missions  in  several 
other  north-western  States.  Michigan,  Wisconsin,  and  Alinnesota 
have  all  been  visited  by  individual  enterprise.  In  1859  the  Mis- 
slonar}'  Board  reported  that  the  Rev.  A.  H.  Houghton  had  been 
commissioned  to  travel  and  preach  in  northern  Iowa  and  southern 
Minnesota.  There  is  no  record  of  the  extent  of  his  success  m 
Minnesota.  In  i860  the  board's  report  again  mentioned  Houghton 
as  missionary  in  this  field,  and  adds,  "He  is  doing  a  good  work." 
In  1857  the  board  resolved  to  establish  a  mission  in  St.  Cloud,  Min- 
nesota. Some  money  was  raised  for  that  purpose,  but  no  mission- 
ary was  sent.     The  work  dragged  along  till  the  war  put  an  end  to 


Chapter  XXXII.]  ThE   NORTH-WEST.  34I 

sucli  enterprises.  Good  meetings  were  held  in  several  of  these 
north-western  States,  and  some  feeble  churches  were  organized, 
but  the  population  being  made  up  of  emigrants  from  States  where 
there  are  no  Cumberland  Presbyterians,  it  was  the  more  difficult 
for  our  people  to  gain  a  permanent  foothold.  Among  the  early 
settlers  in  Kansas,  Nebraska,  Colorado,  Oregon,  California,  and 
Washington,  there  was  a  large  Cumberland  Presbyterian  element, 
therefore  these  States  and  Territories  offered  more  inviting  fields 
for  our  ministers. 

Our  Church  has  sometimes  tried  to  press  its  way  into  fields 
where  there  was  no  providential  opening,  but  the  results  have 
never  been  satisfactory.  There  are  fields  where  others  are  mani- 
festly chosen  of  God  to  bear  his  name  to  the  perishing,  and  where 
Cumberland  Presbyterians  are  not  so  chosen;  and  there  are  other 
fields  where  our  people  have  a  high  mission  to  fill  simultaneously 
with  others.     L<et  us  follow  the  divine  leading. 


342  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  iv. 


CHAPTER   XXXIII. 


OREGON  AND  CALIFORNIA— 1844  TO  i860. 

By  dust  of  earth  encumbered, 

None  prized  the  precious  stone; 
Christ  looked  on  it  and  loved  it: 

I  low  fair  his  gem  hath  grown! 

— Anna  Shipton. 

CALIFORNIA  gold  was  not  the  precious  stone,  but  the  dust 
which  encumbered  it.  God  rules,  and  he  has  used  even 
man's  lust  for  riches  as  a  means  of  carrying  the  gospel  to  multi- 
tudes of  perishing  immortals.  The  work  of  the  Cumberland  Pres- 
byterian church  on  the  Pacific  coast  began  in  Oregon,  and  extended 
from  that  field  to  California. 

Oregon  was  disputed  territory  till  1846.  The  claimants  had 
been  Spain,  England,  and  the  United  States,  but  in  18 18  Spain 
relinquished  all  her  claims  in  favor  of  the  United  States.  Both 
Great  Britain  and  America,  knowing  the  great  difficulties  which 
beset  this  question,  shrank  for  many  years  from  attempting  a  set- 
tlement of  boundaries.  Fur  companies  with  their  employes  were 
there  from  both  nations,  and  with  no  kindly  feeling  toward  each 
other.  The  first  meetings  of  commissioners  to  settle  the  bounda- 
ries ended  in  nothing  but  an  agreement  to  postpone  the  difficulty, 
and  leave  the  pioneers  to  joint  occupation  of  the  country.  While 
treaties  in  1846  averted  a  war  and  settled  the  boundaries,  yet  it  was 
not  till  1848  that  Oregon  was  organized  as  a  Territory  of  the 
United  States  with  regular  territorial  government. 

The  difficulties  in  the  way  of  colonizing  Oregon  by  the  Ameri- 
cans were  so  great  that  prominent  writers  in  British  quarterlies 
prophesied  that  it  would  never  be  done. '  The  route  by  sea  around 
Cape  Horn,  and  the  route  overland  across  the  great  desert  and  the 
Rocky  Mountains,  were  alike  appalling.     In  spite  of  these  difficul- 

'See  Edinburgh  Rernetv,  1S43. 


Chapter  XXXIII.]  OREGON  AND   CALIFORNIA.  343 

ties  two  Methodist  preachers  (Lee  and  Shepherd)  took  a  colony  of 
Americans  to  Oregon  in  1834,  twelve  years  before  the  boundary 
question  was  settled.  It  was  a  daring  thing,  but  it  was  done. 
This  colony  of  Methodists  went  by  sea,  and  settled  in  Willamette 
Valley. 

Fur  traders  and  government  expeditions  began  to  call  attention 
to  the  overland  route.  Mr.  Parker,  the  missionar}^,  led  a  band 
over  the  dreadful  desert  and  across  the  Rocky  Mountains  in  1835. 
Next  year  the  ill-fated  mission  of  Whitman,  Gray,  and  Spaulding 
(American  Board)  was  planted  in  Oregon. 

All  this  time  American  settlers  in  Oregon  had  to  encounter 
hostile  Indians  and  unfriendly  English  fur  traders.  They  settled, 
too,  on  soil  whose  ownership  was  still  in  dispute.  They  reached 
their  destination  through  dangers,  trials,  and  losses  rarely  paral- 
leled. In  1839  ^^^^  following  list  of  prices  on  Green  River  was 
published  for  the  information  of  emigrants.  Whisky  (of  course 
this  came  first),  three  dollars  a  pint.  Dogs  (for  food),  fifteen  dol- 
lars apiece.  Tobacco,  five  dollars  per  pound.  Flour,  none  to  be 
had.     Whisky,  dogs,  tobacco — that  was  the  bill  of  fare! 

The  first  Cumberland  Presbyterian  who  undertook  to  plant  a 
colony  in  Oregon  was  the  Rev.  J.  A.  Cornwall.  He  made  his  call 
for  colonists  in  1844,  two  years  before  the  war-cloud  which  grew 
out  of  the  boundary  question  passed  away.  It  was  1846  when  his 
colony  reached  Oregon.  The  Rev.  J.  E.  Braly  and  his  family 
went  in  1847.  I^ong  afterward  Mrs.  Braly  ("Aunt  Sue")  often  re- 
cited the  story  of  this  daring  journey.  They  started  in  1846,  but 
halted  on  the  Platte  till  the  next  year.  Indians  dogged  their  steps, 
and  sometimes  stole  their  cattle.  One  favorite  method  with  the 
red  men  was  to  stampede  these  animals.  Overland  emigrants 
relied  mainly  on  cattle.  Every  family  took  as  many  oxen  as  pos- 
sible. Cows,  too,  were  sometimes  yoked  to  draw  the  wagons,  or 
driven  in  herds.  Cattle  not  only  endured  the  journey  better  than 
horses,  but  they  constituted  the  most  desirable  property  after  the 
journey  was  finished.  For  mutual  protection  large  numbers  of 
families  formed  a  company,  elected  a  captain,  gave  him  almost  mil- 
itary authority,  and  traveled  in  one  band  or  "train."  Thus  an 
army  of  cattle  was  brought  together.      These  animals   in  vast 


344  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  iv. 

herds,  frightened  and  stampeded,  became  as  destructive  as  a  tor- 
nado. After  they  were  thus  scattered  they  could  never  all  be  gath- 
ered together  again.  A  stampeded  train  meant  the  death  of  many 
an  emigrant  during  the  stampede,  and  starvation  to  many  another 
afterward. 

On  his  arrival  in  Oregon  ]\Ir.  Braly  stopped  with  his  family  at 
Whitman's  mission.  There  he  found  a  most  welcome  rest  for  him- 
self and  his  family,  and  he  felt  disposed  to  remain  till  thoroughly 
recruited.  To  this,  however,  there  arose  an  obstacle.  Mrs.  Braly 
told  him  one  day  that  she  felt  an  overwhelming  presentiment  of 
evil,  and  could  not  consent  to  remain  at  Whitman's  any  longer. 
Mr.  Braly  expostulated,  but  "Aunt  Sue"  said,  "I'll  die  if  I  have 
to  stay  one  day  longer."  The  result  was  that  Braly  took  up  his 
line  of  march  for  other  portions  of  Oregon.  He  was  just  in  time, 
for  soon  after  his  departure  the  whole  country  was  ringing  with  the 
tidings  of  the  horrid  massacre  by  the  Indians  of  all  the  people  at 
Whitman's  Station. 

It  was  generally  believed  by  the  Protestants  that  this  deed  was 
instigated  by  the  Jesuit  priests,  who  were  exceedingly  averse  to 
having  Protestant  missions  established  in  that  country.  There 
was  an  independent  provisional  government  in  the  territory'  be- 
longing to  no  nation,  but  watched  by  English  and  Americans  alike. 
The  militia  under  the  control  of  this  government  went  in  pursuit 
of  the  murderers  of  the  missionaries.  Mr.  Braly' s  horses  were 
pressed  into  the  service  by  these  militia-men,  but  he  afterward 
recovered  them.  There  was  an  official  investigation  of  the  charges 
against  the  Jesuit  priests,  but  the  story  of  this  massacre  does  not 
belong  to  this  history. 

Some  facts  concerning  emigration  to  Oregon  at  this  early  period 
will  be  of  service  in  explaining  the  work  of  the  first  Cumberland 
Presbyterian  preachers  in  that  country.  Some  statements  about  a 
body  of  eight  hundred  emigrants  (1843)  ^^^  quoted  from  the  Over- 
land Monthly: 

Successful  as  the  first  large  emigration  was  in  safely  reaching  east- 
ern Oregon,  the  emigrants  found  one  of  the  most  difficult  portions  of 
their  journey  would  be  the  passage  of  the  Cascade  ISIountains  with 
their  families,  household  stuff,  wagons,  and   stock.     Upon  arriving  at 


Chapter  XXXIII.]  OREGON   AND   CALIFORNIA.  345 

the  Dalles,  very  few  of  these  eight  hundred  people  had  any  provisions 
left.  Neither  had  the  colonists  made  any  preparations  for  them.  Many 
of  them  had  left  their  exhausted  cattle  in  the  Walla  Walla  country  to 
recruit  until  spring.  Others  expected  to  drive  theirs  into  the  Willa- 
mette Valley  by  a  narrow  pack-trail,  over  which  it  was  impossible  to 
take  the  wagons.  In  this  extremity  the  very  corporation  they  had  been 
taught  tx)  fear  and  dislike  came  to  their  assistance,  with  food  for  the 
starving  families  and  boats  for  transportation  down  the  Columbia. 
Those  who  could  not  pay  fared  as  well  as  those  who  could.  The  colo- 
nists had  made  no  preparation  for  the  reception  of  the  eight  hundred 
new  settlers;  neither  was  there  food  nor  shelter  for  all  these  people,  nor 
teams  to  break  up  the  sod,  nor  seed  to  put  in  the  earth  for  the  next 
year's  provisions.  Credit  had  to  be  extended  to  large  numbers  of  these 
people,  whose  little  all  was  exhausted  by  the  long  and  wasting  journey 
from  the  Mississippi  to  the  Pacific  Ocean.  The  colonists  themselves 
could  not  I'elieve  such  a  number.  The  mission  store  had  no  authority 
to  give  credit;  the  few  small  traders  already  in  the  country  would  not. 
Dr.  McLaughlin  alone  was  both  able  and  willing.  Thus  none  of  the 
immigrants  suffered  as  they  must  have  suffered  without  this  assistance. 

Dr.  Mclvaughlin  was  the  agent  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Fur  Com- 
pany (British),  and  for  this  kindness  to  American  emigrants  he  was 
deprived  of  his  office. 

One  of  the  keen  disappointments  which  immigrants  encount- 
ered was  that  which  they  met  after-  reaching  Oregon.  They 
reached  the  high  mountains  of  Oregon  with  exhausted  and  starv- 
ing teams.  To  their  amazement  and  horror  they  often  found  it 
impossible  to  cross  these  mountains  before  another  year.  Thus 
the  Rev.  J.  A.  Cornwall  and  his  party  were  forced  to  tarry  through 
the  winter  of  1846.  When  spring  came  nearly  all  the  cattle  and 
other  property  belonging  to  these  suffering  immigrants  was  gone, 
and  they  made  their  way  to  the  settlements  under  difficulties  which 
no  pen  can  describe. 

The  Rev.  Neil  Johnson  went  to  Oregon  in  185 1,  and  the  Rev. 
J.  H.  D.  Henderson  in  1852.  Johnson  lost  nearly  all  his  earthly 
possessions  on  the  journey.  Many  emigrants  in  1852  perished  on 
the  way.  Johnson,  while  on  his  journey,  writes  thus  to  one  of  the 
church  papers: 

There  are  a  few  things  connected  with  the  journey  that  are  far 
from  being  pleasant.     The  first  is  the  weather.     Scarcely  a  day  passes 


346  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  iv. 

without  a  storm  of  rain  and  hail  and  thunder  and  lightning  all  com- 
bined, and  sometimes  these  continue  for  many  hours  together.  This, 
combined  with  a  scarcity  of  fuel,  often  makes  the  emigrant  feel  any 
thing  but  comfortable.  The  scarcity  of  fuel  is  quite  an  inconvenience. 
What  there  is  in  the  way  of  wood  consists  mainly  of  Cottonwood  and 
willow.  These  are  generally  found  on  islands  in  the  river,  and  may  be 
obtained  by  wading  from  fifty  to  one  hundred  yards.  But  for  days 
together  you  will  travel  and  not  see  so  much  as  a  riding  switch.  Then 
your  alternative  for  fuel  is  "buftalo  chips  " — a  very  poor  substitute,  espe- 
cially in  wet  weather.  Or  drift-wood  may  be  found  in  some  places 
along  the  margin  of  the  river;  or  occasionally  the  remains  of  an  emi- 
grant's wagon.  But  little  calculation  can  be  made  on  the  latter,  from 
the  fact  that  when  a  wagon  is  to  be  left  it  is  nearly  all  burned  by  the 
company  before  leaving  camp.  .  .  .  The  abundance  of  alkali  water  has 
caused  many  a  poor  ox  to  leave  his  bones  to  bleach  on  the  prairie. 
This  extends  at  intervals  for  a  thousand  miles  of  the  journey  all  along 
Platte  River,  and  until  you  reach  Big  Sandy.  Should  you  get  along 
early  in  the  season  the  danger  is  not  so  great;  but  when  the  dry  season 
sets  in,  and  the  ravines  cease  to  run,  then  look  out  for  poison.  The 
common  remedy  when  cattle  are  poisoned  is  lard,  fat  bacon,  or  citric 
acid.     These,  if  administered  in  time,  generally  give  relief.  .... 

Another  Cumberland  Presbyterian  emigrant  while  on  this 
dreary  journey  writes  about  the  cholera  thus: 

The  dead  are  disposed  of  in  a  summary  manner.  The  grave  is  dug 
as  soon  as  the  breath  leaves  the  body.  This  occupies  about  half  an 
hour;  not  that  graves  are  dug  so  shallow,  but  the  earth  is  so  sandy  and 
soft  that  the  work  is  soon  accomplished.  The  corpse  is  then  borne 
upon  a  blanket,  or  some  of  the  bed-clothes  upon  which  the  person  died, 
and  let  down  into  its  final  abode,  this  blanket  answering  for  winding- 
sheet  and  coflin.  The  sand  is  then  replaced,  the  name,  residence,  date 
of  death,  etc.,  inscribed  upon  a  board  placed  at  the  head,  and  the  train 
is  all  probably  under  way  again  in  thirty  minutes.  In  such  graves  hun- 
dreds are  sleeping. 

In  1852  the  emigration  was  so  large  that  the  grass  was  ex- 
hausted, and  the  emigrants  who  started  late  not  only  lost  all  their 
cattle  and  other  property,  but  a  great  many  of  the  men  and  women 
perished  on  the  journey.  Through  such  difficulties  as  these  the 
first  Cumberland  Presbyterian  preachers  made  their  way  to  Oregon. 
Our  first  congregation  in  Oregon  was  organized  by  Mr.  Cornwall, 
aided  by  J.   E.  Braly,      The   Rev.  Neil  Johnson  has   published 


Chapter  XXXIII.]  OREGON   AND   CALIFORNIA.  347 

a  historical  sketch  of  our  church  iu  that  country,  which  shows 
that  the  organization  of  the  Oregon  Presbytery  was  ordered  in 
1847,  ^i^d  ^^^^  order  was  carried  out  November  3,  185 1.  The 
members  present  were  Neil  Johnson,  J.  A.  Cornwall,  and  Joseph 
Robertson.  The  Rev.  A.  W.  Sweeney  was  present  as  a  visitor. 
Licensed  preachers  present:  B.  F.  Music  and  John  Dillard.  Four 
congregations  were  represented.  A  great  revival  was  reported. 
Braly  had  gone  to  California,  as  had  many  private  members. 

In  1853  t^^^^  frontier  presbytery  resolved  to  have  a  college.  It 
raised  the  money  and  built  a  house.  It  secured  a  $20,000  scholar- 
ship endowment.  It  employed  a  graduate  of  Waynesburg  College 
for  president,  and  opened  the  institution.  The  infidels  of  Eugene 
City,  where  the  school  was  located,  were  its  bitter  enemies.  In  a 
few  weeks  some  incendiary  burned  down  the  buildings.  A  hall 
was  rented  for  temporar>^  use,  and  other  buildings  erected.  The 
teaching  force  was  enlarged,  and  the  school  had  one  hundred  and 
fifty  pupils  when  the  buildings  were  again  destroyed  by  fire.  Then 
our  people  erected  a  fire-proof  building,  but  unfortunately  went  in 
debt  for  a  large  part  of  the  work.  The  infidels  started  a  rival 
enterprise,  and  struggled  to  alienate  those  who  had  promised  to 
contribute  for  the  erection  of  the  fire-proof  buildings.  By  reason 
of  accumulated  disasters  payments  were  not  met,  and  the  buildings 
were  sold  for  debt.  This  ended  the  college  enterprise.  Private 
schools,  however,  were  kept  up  by  our  people  in  different  parts  of 
Oregon  with  good  results. 

A  manuscript  sketch  of  the  history  of  our  church  in  Oregon, 
prepared  by  the  venerable  Jacob  Gillespie,  gives  some  additional  par- 
ticulars about  the  fire-proof  college  building.  It  seems  that  a  storm 
came  and  swept  away  the  roof  after  the  building  was  nearly  com- 
pleted. Mr.  Gillespie  also  mentions  some  other  struggles  of  the 
Oregon  churches  to  secure  educational  facilities.  Surely  they  have 
had  to  brave  many  difficulties.  Gillespie  gives  a  graphic  picture 
of  the  scattered  condition  of  our  people  in  that  country.  Oregon 
included  at  first  the  whole  of  what  is  now  Washington  Territory, 
and  was  once  thought  to  extend  to  54°  40'  north  latitude.  In  a 
territory  large  enough  for  an  empire  a  half  dozen  preachers  and  a 
few  feeble  churches  were  scattered  here  and  there. 


348  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  iv. 

The  Rev.  T.  H,  Small  and  the  Rev.  Jacob  Gillespie  were  among 
these  pioneer  preachers  in  Oregon. 

All  these  men  had  to  earn  their  own  bread.  The  immigrants 
were  generally  poor,  and  could  not  sustain  pastors.  There  was  no 
Cumberland  Presbyterian  minister  in  all  the  territory  whose  hands 
were  freed  from  secular  pursuits.  Yet  our  preachers  planted 
churches  and  worked  patiently  on.  How  valuable  a  consecrated, 
minister,  sustained  by  the  Missionary  Board  for  a  few  years,  might 
have  been!  The  church  did  not  have  even  one  such  helper  on  any 
part  of  the  Pacific  coast. 

Gillespie  was  one  of  the  original  members  of  Willamette  Pres- 
bytery. He  has  been  in  the  ministry  over  fifty-six  years.  He 
organized  a  congregation  in  Oregon  thirty-seven  years  ago.  He 
calls  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  minis- 
ters in  Oregon  are  nearly  all  old  men. 

Our  church  has  three  presbyteries  in  what  once  was  Oregon 
Territory.  The  Oregon  Presbytery  has  six  ordained  ministers  and 
one  licensed  preacher.  Walla  Walla  Presbytery  has  twelve  ordained 
ministers  and  no  probationers.  The  Willamette  Presbyter^'  has 
nine  ordained  ministers  and  two  licentiates.  This  lack  of  a 
home  supply  of  rising  ministers  is  startling,  and  ought  to  send  all 
the  surviving  pioneers  in  that  field  to  God  in  earnest  prayer  that 
their  own  sons  may  be  called  into  the  ministr}'. 

It  was  not  till  1859  that  Oregon  became  a  State  in  the  American 
Union.     It  is  still  a  new  field  with  ample  room  for  growth. 

The  acquisition  of  California  by  the  United  States,  and  the  dis- 
covery of  gold  there  immediately  afterward  (1848),  produced  a  rush 
of  population  from  all  parts  of  the  world,  such  as  perhaps  never 
had  a  parallel.  All  the  tongues  of  the  earth  mingled  in  the  jargon 
that  babbled  about  the  mines.  All  grades  of  scholarship  and  cult- 
ure, as  well  as  all  grades  of  ignorance  and  vice,  were  represented 
among  the  gold  diggers.  A  desert,  waterless,  treeless,  foodless, 
stretching  wider  than  Sahara,  could  not  check  the  great  rush  from 
the  States.  The  way  was  paved  with  skeletons,  but  the  gold  hunt- 
ers pressed  on.  Men  perished  in  the  snows  of  the  Sierra  Nevada 
Mountains,  but  other  parties  still  kept  coming  with  larger  forces. 
California  was  peopled  at  once. 


Chapter  XXXIII.]  OREGON   AND   CALIFORNIA.  349 

The  change  from  the  sluggish  progress  under  the  padres,  which 
had  marked  the  last  three  hundred  years  of  California  life,  was  like 
waking  from  a  vague  dream  and  a  quiet  sleep  in  your  own  chamber 
to  find  yourself  in  the  midst  of  a  city  which  infuriated  armies  are 
sacking.  Among  these  wild  and  motley  masses  at  the  mines,  as 
well  as  among  the  dead  who  fell  on  the  journey,  were  many  mem- 
bers of  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  church.  Some  of  our  minis- 
ters were  also"  among  these  transient  multitudes. 

All  was  transient.  A  city  of  tents  would  spring  up  where  gold 
abounded,  and  if  ' '  better  diggings ' '  were  discovered  elsewhere,  the 
city  would  vanish  in  a  week,  leaving  perhaps  a  dozen  Chinamen  to 
rewash  "the  tailings."  Four  hundred  thousand  letters  were  re- 
turned from  California  to  the  dead  letter  office  in  a  single  year. 
The  soldiers  in  our  great  civil  war  were  more  permanent  and  far 
more  readily  found  than  were  these  mining  populations. 

Ruffians  and  Christian  gentlemen,  preachers  and  people,  all 
alike  went  to  California  to  dig  gold.  The  scholarly  clerg^'man  girt 
himself  with  a  revolver  and  shouldered  his  spade.  Alas,  too,  that 
it  should  be  necessary  to  add  that  some  of  these  clergymen  became 
notorious  gamblers  before  they  left  the  mines.  A  young  minister 
was  fitted  out  by  the  Rev.  Hugh  B.  Hill  and  furnished  money  to 
go  to  California  and  preach  to  the  miners.  This  was  in  the  begin- 
ning of  the  great  rush  thither.  This  young  man  made  his  way  to 
the  Golden  Gate,  and  there,  after  six  months  among  the  pioneers, 
set  up  a  gambling  saloon.  Nor  was  his  the  only  case  of  this  kind. 
This  unfortunate  feature  of  the  history  of  the  church  in  California 
is  mentioned  that  it  may  be  known  that  our  true  men  in  that  field 
had  such  traitors  in  their  camp,  and  were  crippled  in  their  work 
for  Jesus  by  their  evil  example. 

But  some  true  men  went  with  their  families  to  California  in 
1849,  aiming  to  preach  as  much  as  was  consistent  with  their  cir- 
cumstances. They  all  had  their  own  families  to  support.  Our 
board  sent  no  missionary  to  California  until  ten  years  later.  The 
only  men  who  remained  true  to  their  calling  among  the  first  Cum- 
berland Presbyterian  preachers  in  that  country  were  those  who  re- 
ceived no  help  from  the  Church. 

The  first  of  these  to  arrive  in  California  was  Rev.  John  B. 


350  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  iv. 

Braly. '  He  went  from  Oregon  and  settled  first  at  Fremont.  Put- 
ting up  a  canvas  structure,  he  established  a  Christian  boarding- 
house  for  the  miners.  He  was  then  without  property,  but  he  soon 
made  money.  On  the  4th  of  July,  1849,  ^^^  began  his  ministry  to 
the  gold  diggers,  Indians,  and  heathen.  Some  say  his  was  the 
first  Protestant  preaching  in  California. 

Another  true  man  and  faithful  minister  in  that  field  was  the 
Rev.  T.  A.  Ish.  In  a  letter  dated  Sacramento  City,  March  25, 
1850,  which  was  published  in  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian^  he 
says  he  "left  the  land  of  civilization"  on  the  5th  of  May,  1849, 
and  arrived  in  California  September  12.  In  the  latter  part  of  the 
journey  the  cattle  grew  so  weak  that  they  had  to  be  abandoned, 
and  were  left  to  perish  in  the  desert.     The  letter  continues: 

When  I  arrived  here  I  was  worn  out  with  the  fatigue  of  the  jour- 
ney and  much  debilitated  by  an  attack  of  fever.  In  a  short  time,  how- 
ever, I  recovered  my  health,  and  it  has  been  unusually  good  ever  since. 
For  a  time  I  stopped  in  the  vicinity  of  Fort  Sutler,  a  town  of  four  or 
five  tliousand  inhabitants,  mostly  intelligent  and  energetic  men.  I  aft- 
erward came  to  Sacramento  City,  and  will  probably  stay  here  during 
my  residence  in  California.  I,  with  many  others,  had  something  of  the 
gold  fever,  yet  I  could  not  content  myself  to  sit  down  as  an  idler  in  the 
Lord's  vineyard.  After  consulting  a  few  of  the  brethren  and  friends, 
I  resolved  to  make  an  effort  to  have  a  house  of  worship  erected.  The 
house  is  now  completed,  in  good  order,  and  is  a  comfortable  room,  well 
furnished,  where  some  three  or  four  hundred  persons  may  comfortably 
sit  and  hear  the  gospel  of  peace.  The  city  has  so  enlarged  that  we 
want  several  churches.  You  can  not  imagine  how  much  good  it  did  us 
on  last  Sabbath  week,  and  yesterday,  to  meet  in  our  church  to  worship 
together.  The  Rev.  J.  M.  Cameron  and  myself  have  both  preached 
each  Sabbath  since  the  completion  of  our  room.  He  came  to  this  city 
a  few  weeks  since  with  his  famil}',  but  he  is  talking  of  leaving  this  place 
and  going  lower  down  in  the  country. 

There  are  several  substantial  members  of  our  church  here,  and  I 
think  we  could  after  a  while  organize  a  tolerably  respectable  congrega- 
tion. We  have  enough  ordained  preachers  in  this  country  to  form  a 
presbytery,  but  gold  has  such  a  distracting  influence  that  I  do  not  know 
whether  they  can  be  got  together  or  not.  The  Rev.  J.  E.  Braly  is  in 
the  town  of   Fremont,  twenty-five  or  thirty  miles  above  Sacramento 

'Some  saj  the  Rev.  J.  M.  Small  was  first,  but  give  no  dates.  I  believe  Braly 
was  first. 


Chapter  XXXIII.]  OREGON   AND   CaUFORNIA.  351 

City.  Brothers  Mansfield  and  Moore  are  in  the  mines.  These,  as  far  as 
I  know,  are  the  only  Cumberland  Presbyterian  preachers  in  this  country. 
Here  are  people  from  every  nation  under  heaven  who  much  need 
the  gospel.  The  harvest  is  white,  but  the  laborers  are  few.  Strikingly 
was  my  mind  impressed  last  night  at  our  prayer-meeting  by  the  petition 
offered  in  every  prayer,  "Lord,  send  more  laborers  into  thy  vineyard!" 
This  was  sanctioned  by  hearty  amens  from  all  the  praying  band.  It  is 
only  now  and  then,  amidst  the  busy  throng,  that  I  am  permitted  to  see 
the  face  of  a  minister  of  the  gospel.  The  Methodists  have  a  good 
church  here,  and  a  faithful  man  to  preach  to  them.  The  miners  in 
many  parts  are  said  to  be  doing  very  well,  obtaining  from  $16  to  $50 
per  day. 

The  Rev.  Cornelius  Yager  has  long  been  a  faithful  Cumberland 
Presbyterian  minister  in  California.  With  six  motherless  children 
he  arrived  in  that  country  in  1850.  He  had  a  hard  journey  across 
the  plains,  and  had  to  go  immediately  to  work  to  earn  bread.  At 
first  the  only  opportunity  open  to  him  for  work  and  wages  was  to 
do  hauling  with  his  ox  teams.  From  that  day  to  this  Mr.  Yager 
has  labored  with  his  own  hands  for  bread,  preaching  regularly  on 
Sabbaths.  Once,  for  the  sake  of  sacred  interests,  he  consented  to 
represent  his  fellow-citizens  in  the  legislature.  A  man  of  peace,  a 
hard  worker,  a  safe  counselor,  he  has  been  of  great  service  to  our 
little  churches  in  his  adopted  State. 

In  1854,  Linville  Dooley,  a  married  man,  and  a  candidate  for 
the  ministr}^,  arrived  with  his  family  in  California.  He  had  been 
there  as  a  gold  miner  before  he  made  up  his  mind  to  enter  the  min- 
istry. This  time  he  went  to  this  country  exclusively  to  preach 
Christ.  He  went  at  his  own  charges,  with  the  deliberate  purpose 
of  bearing  any  and  all  privations  that  might  come  to  him  in  the 
prosecution  of  his  chosen  life  work.  He  has  never  swerved  from 
this  purpose.  Receiving  less  than  three  hundred  dollars  annually 
for  his  labors,  and  supporting  a  large  family  in  a  land  where  meat 
was  at  first  a  dollar  per  pound,  he  has  gone  faithfully  on  in  his 
work  for  thirty-two  years.  He  has  organized  a  number  of  congre- 
gations and  received  many  converts  into  the  church.  Much  of  his 
time  has  been  spent  ' '  on  the  circuit ' '  among  the  miners.  Through 
all  these  years  he  has  faithfully  kept  a  diary.  He  has  preached  on 
the  streets,  in  drinking  saloons,  in  dance-houses,  in  gambling  dens, 


352  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  iv. 

in  hotel  dining-rooms,  and  in  other  strange  places.  Some  idea  of 
the  character  of  communities  in  which  he  has  held  meetings  may 
be  gathered  from  the  names  of  the  towns  mentioned  in  his  diary. 
Samples  of  these  are  Humbug,  Red  Dog,  You  Bet,  Poker  Flat,  and 
Gouge  Eye. 

Although  Mr.  Dooley  is  now  old,  and  of  course  has  accumu- 
lated no  worldly  wealth,  he  says  he  expects  to  pursue  the  same 
calling  till  the  Master  takes  him  home.  He  sa}^s  he  has  no  regrets 
over  his  long  years  of  privation,  but  would  bear  it  all  over  again 
if  he  had  to  start  at  the  beginning  with  a  full  knowledge  of  all 
the  hardships.  Regrets?  ah  no!  Let  those  have  regrets  who  have 
been  false  to  their  Lord  and  their  high  calling. 

A  description  of  a  California  meeting  held  by  the  Rev.  E.  C. 
Latta,  another  faithful  Cumberland  Presbyterian  pioneer  on  the 
Pacific  coast,  will  give  the  reader  an  idea  of  the  difficulties  under 
which  the  first  preachers  in  that  country  sometimes  labored.  Latta 
was  earning  his  bread  by  hunting.  A  hotel  at  which  he  boarded 
bought  his  venison.  He  got  permission  from  Jim,  the  hotel 
keeper,  to  have  preaching  in  the  bar-room.  When  Sabbath  came 
the  only  two  women  in  all  the  country'  came  to  the  meeting.  Gam- 
blers, too,  were  there,  busy  at  their  cards.  Latta  interrupted  their 
games,  saying,  "Boys,  it's  my  put  in  now.  Jim  says  I  may  preach 
in  this  room.  Just  mark  your  place  and  wait  till  I  preach." 
And  then,  without  preliminaries,  he  began  his  sermon.  When  the 
sermon  was  over  the  gamblers  returned  to  their  cards. 

It  was  difficult  to  determine  what  synod  had  jurisdiction  in  Cal- 
ifornia. The  Cumberland  Presbyterian  preachers  in  this  State 
wanted  to  form  a  presbytery,  but  no  order  had  been  passed  author- 
izing such  an  organization.  In  this  emergency  they  resolved  to 
organize  without  any  formal  order,  and  to  ask  the  General  Assem- 
bly to  recognize  the  new  presbytery  and  attach  it  to  some  synod. 
In  the  house  of  J.  E.  Braly,  on  the  4th  of  April,  1851,  Cornelius 
Yager,  W.  Gallimore,  James  M.  Small,  and  John  E.  Braly,  all 
ordained  ministers,  constituted  the  California  Presbytery.  The 
next  General  Assembly  approved  their  action,  and  attached  the 
presbytery  to  the  Missouri  Synod,  whose  jurisdiction  extended  also 
to  Oregon. 


Chapter  XXXIII.]  OREGON   AND   CALIFORNIA.  353 

So  long  as  the  great  mass  of  the  population  had  less  local  per- 
manency than  a  great  army  in  the  midst  of  war,  church  organiza- 
tions were  also  without  permanence.  In  traveling  over  this  State 
one  may  hear  the  history  of  such  mushroom  churches  in  almost 
all  the  counties;  and  yet  who  shall  dare  say  that  the  results  were 
not  permanent?  "By  Yuba's  red  waters"  the  grave  of  the  miner 
who  died  three  thousand  miles  from  his  mother's  fireside  is  all 
unmarked  and  unknown ;  but  amid  the  blessed  spirits  of  light  and 
glory  who  gather  along  the  banks  of  the  river  of  life,  the  immortal 
soul  saved  in  the  mushroom  church  now  reigns  in  deathless  glory. 
Not  lost  were  those  transient  labors  among  those  transient  peoples. 

One  of  the  pioneer  churches  which  did  not  melt  away  like 
morning  mists  was  the  Mountain  View  church,  in  Santa  Clara 
County.  It  was  organized  in  1852  by  the  Rev.  J.  E.  Braly.  Mr. 
Braly  long  ministered  to  that  flock. 

In  the  very  beginning  of  our  denominational  work  in  this 
State  the  Rev.  J.  M.  Small  planted  a  church  and  built  a  house  of 
worship  in  Napa  City.  In  the  neighborhood  of  one  of  Mr.  Small's 
congregations,  in  1852,  some  young  unmarried  men  sustained  a 
camp-meeting.  The  same  year  Mr.  Small  and  others  held  a  meet- 
ing in  Sonoma,  and  secured  money  to  build  a  house  of  worship. 

The  Pacific  Presbytery  was  organized  in  1854,  in  the  house  of 
the  Rev.  J.  M.  Cameron.  This  presbytery  established  an  academy 
at  Sonoma,  which  in  i860  was  turned  over  to  the  synod  and  called 
Cumberland  College.  It  had  a  short  but  useful  career.  It  was  the 
first  Cumberland  Presbyterian  school  in  California.  There  was 
wrangling  over  the  location,  and  this,  according  to  Mr.  Dooley,  was 
ultimately  the  cause  of  its  death.  Another,  or  at  least  an  auxiliary 
cause  can  be  found  in  the  flitting  away  of  all  the  first  population 
of  Sonoma.  German  wine  growers  now  own  the  principal  part  of 
the  beautiful  country  around  the  old  college  buildings.  That 
rivalry  and  divided  counsels  injured  not  only  Cumberland  College 
at  Sonoma,  but  other  church  work  in  California,  is  however  a  pain- 
ful fact.  The  history  of  these  diflferences  and  disputes  would  make 
a  long  chapter,  but  it  would  be  useless  to  record  it  here. 
■  The  Board  of  Missions  was  instructed  by  the  General  Assembly 
(1855)  to  send  a  man  to  California  before  opening  any  other  new 
23 


354  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  iv. 

mission.  For  years  the  board  reported  that  all  efiforts  to  secure  a 
man  for  that  field  had  failed.  Finally,  in  1859,  ^^^^  Rev.  W.  N, 
Cunningham  was  sent  to  Stockton,  California.  Nothing  more  was 
done,  however,  than  to  pay  the  missionary's  way  to  his  field  of 
labor,  the  board  seeming  to  have  the  impression  that  he  could  live 
on  what  our  people  in  Stockton  could  pay  him.  On  his  arrival  he 
found  in  that  city  a  few  members  of  our  church,  but  no  organized 
congregation.  He  received  such  small  compensation  for  his  labors 
that  he  suffered  for  the  actual  necessities  of  life.  He  struggled 
alone  and  in  destitution  till  he  secured  money  to  build  a  church, 
but  was  driven  at  last  by  sheer  starvation  to  seek  other  work. 

He  next  took  charge  of  Sonoma  College.  This  institution  was 
overwhelmed  in  debts  when  he  entered  upon  its  management.  He 
labored  till  these  debts  were  paid  off.  He  raised  twelve  thousand 
dollars  to  build  a  new  college  edifice,  remaining  twelve  years  in  all 
at  Sonoma.  He  has  since  combined  some  secular  business  for  the 
support  of  his  family  with  his  work  of  preaching.  This  he  did 
not  do  till  he  had  been  driven  to  it  by  the  most  pressing  necessity. 
In  this  combined  work  he  has  built  up  and  helped  to  build  up  sev- 
eral churches.  Mr,  Cunningham  has  suffered  long  from  hope 
deferred.  The  church  did  just  nothing  to  help  the  struggling  few 
who  went  to  California  to  preach  the  gospel.  Had  even  one  mis- 
sionary been  sustained  in  that  field  the  case  would  not  be  so  bad; 
but  while  other  churches  were  paying  salaries  and  building  houses 
of  worship  in  California,  the  pioneer  preachers  of  the  Cumberland 
Presbyterian  church  had  to  earn  their  own  bread  and  preach  with- 
out pay. 

Speaking  of  the  paper  started  by  Rev.  T.  M.  Johnston  in  i860, 
and  of  the  college  at  Sonoma,  the  Rev.  D.  E.  Bushnell,  D.D.,  says 
in  a  published  article: 

Both  of  these  enterprises  have  been  connected  with  nearly  all  of 
our  subsequent  history,  though  both  have  ceased  to  exist  in  fact  though 
not  in  influence.  When  the  full  history  of  the  Cumberland  Presbyte- 
rian church  on  the  Pacific  slope  shall  have  been  written,  there  will  be 
found  two  enterprises  inseparably  connected  with  its  record,  and  the 
forces  that  have  contributed  toward  the  results  already  achieved,  viz.: 
Cumberland  College  aVid  the  Pacific  Observer.  And  indissolubly  con- 
nected with  these  invaluable  agencies  for  Christ  and  his  cause  are  the 


Chapter  XXXIIL]  OrEGON   AND   CALIFORNIA.  355 

names  of  the  sainted  Johnston,  the  founder  and  for  ten  years  the  pro- 
prietor and  editor  of  our  church  journal,  who  has  gone  to  reap  the 
reward  which  was  wholly  denied  him  in  this  life,  and  the  indefatigable 
and  heroic  Cunningham,  whose  indomitable  will  and  lofty  courage  bore 
up  the  cherished  college  enterprise  when  the  hearts  of  others  failed 
them.  .  .  .  Working  in  the  same  general  direction,  but  resulting  fi^om 
an  unfortunate  and  ever-to-be-regretted  division  and  diversion  of  the 
energies  of  our  little  band  of  builders  in  the  spiritual  wilderness,  so  sadly 
common  in  such  cases,  were  the  Union  Academy  at  Alamo,  and  the 
San  Joaquin  College  near  Stockton.  After  short  careers  of  struggle, 
though  at  times  well  manned  and  liberally  patronized,  and  accomplish- 
ing no  little  good  for  the  communities  in  which  they  were  located,  these 
institutions  lost  all  their  property  by  accidental  fires,  and  having  no 
endowment,  ceased.  No  well-defined  effort  has  since  been  made  to 
establish  a  church  school  in  the  name  of  the  Cumberland  Presbyterians 
of  California. 

What  a  pity  that  our  people  could  not  concentrate  their  college 
work  even  in  that  feeble  frontier!  They  tried  to  have  three  col- 
leges, and  ended  in  having  none  at  all. 

The  Rev.  T.  M.  Johnston  was  an  earnest  preacher,  a  sound  the- 
ologian, a  safe  counselor,  and  an  indefatigable  worker.  When 
others  wrangled,  he  wept.  When  others  sought  self,  he  toiled  for 
Jesus.  When  it  was  attempted  to  involve  him  in  these  unfortu- 
nate disputes,  he  removed  to  another  presbytery.  He  was  a  peace- 
maker, ready  to  bind  up  the  wounds  of  those  that  had  been 
wronged  or  injured,  ready  to  pray  with  them  and  remind  them  of 
what  Jesus  suffered  while  achieving  the  world's  redemption. 

The  fascinating  opportunities  to  acquire  wealth  both  in  farming 
and  in  mining  were  a  snare  in  which  many  a  preacher  became 
involved.  Many  of  these  opportunities  bore  a  striking  resemblance 
to  gambling.  One  year  a  single  crop  would  yield  net  profits  suffi- 
cient to  buy  a  ranch.  Another  year,  in  some  parts  of  the  State, 
the  crop  would  not  repay  what  the  seed  cost.  There  were  many 
ministerial  wrecks,  caused  in  most  cases  by  an  undue  haste  to  be 
rich. 

The  difficulties  in  the  way  of  faithful  Cumberland  Presbyte- 
rian evangelists  in  this  State  were  at  first  appalling.  Besides  the 
transient  nature  of  the  population,  the  mixture  of  nationalities 
and  creeds  was  a  serious  obstacle.     Educated  infidels  abounded. 


356  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  iv. 

As  late  as  1877  infidel  lecturers  were  ready  to  confront  the  earnest 
advocates  of  the  gosj^el  in  nearly  all  the  California  towns.  But 
above  all  else,  the  mad  rush  for  wealth  was  and  is  the  thing  most 
unfriendly  to  the  development  of  spiritual  life.  Steady  honest  toil 
is  mocked  at  by  men  who  ride  horseback  eighty  miles  a  day,  who 
feed  three  hundred  hands  all  through  harvest,  who  talk  only  about 
hundreds  of  thousands  when  speaking  of  their  future  expectations. 

But  there  are  for  Cumberland  Presbyterians  advantages  of  no 
mean  character  in  that  field.  Of  all  the  States,  California  is  the 
most  thoroughly  national.  It  is  neither  Northern  nor  Southern; 
or  rather  it  is  both.  So,  too,  is  our  church,  and  so  was  it  even 
while  the  war  was  at  its  worst.  California  is  constantly  receiving 
emigration  from  our  churches.  Some  of  our  best  men  go  there. 
With  a  delightful  climate,  a  wonderful  soil,  an  invigorating  atmos- 
phere, and  a  world  of  natural  wonders;  with  a  grand  system  of 
free  schools,  and  throngs  of  the  world's  ablest  scholars  and  think- 
ers constantly  pouring  in  among  its  motley  society — it  is  by  all 
odds  the  most  fascinating  as  well  as  the  most  difficult  field  our 
church  has  ever  undertaken  to  cultivate.  They  do  nothing  by 
halves  in  California — at  least  not  in  the  financial  world.  Small, 
slow-going  enterprises  are  not  likely  to  live  in  that  country.  Other 
churches  send  large  sums  of  money  and  strong  missionaries;  Cum- 
berland Presbyterians  send  one  man  at  a  time  for  a  whole  State, 
and  have  but  recently  done  that. 

Our  people  have  now  in  that  State  three  presbyteries.  The 
directory  for  1886  shows  that  the  California  Presbytery  has  fourteen 
ordained  preachers,  three  licentiates,  and  one  candidate.  The  Sac- 
ramento Presbytery  has  seven  ordained  ministers,  two  licentiates, 
and  no  candidate.  The  Tulare  Presbyter}'  has  twelve  ordained 
ministers,  one  licentiate,  and  one  candidate.  A  home  supph-  of 
preachers  is  one  of  the  great  wants  of  our  church  in  California 
and  everywhere. 

Some  of  the  same  men  who  planted  the  Cumberland  Presbyte- 
rian church  in  California  also  organized  a  few  churches  in  Idaho, 
but  our  people  never  had  strength  enough  in  that  Territory  to  call 
for  any  separate  history. 


Chapter  XXXIV.]  SMALL    BEGINNINGS.  357 


CHAPTER  XXXIV. 


SUNDRY   SMALL  BEGINNINGS  — NORTH   CAROLINA, 
WEST  VIRGINIA,   GEORGIA,   KANSAS. 

All  the  lessons  He  shall  send 

Are  the  sweetest; 
And  his  training,  in  the  end, 

Is  completest. 

—F.  Ji.  H, 

THE  history  of  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  church  in  North 
Carolina  is  soon  written.  Before  1842,  under  church  direc- 
tion, missionary  tours  were  made  through  this  State  by  Reuben 
Burrow  and  Robert  Donnell.  They  held  meetings  for  the  revival 
party  of  the  Presbyterian  church.  They  had  gracious  revivals,  but 
they  uniformly  declined  to  organize  churches.  At  a  later  day  our 
church  in  East  Tennessee  began  to  extend  a  little  into  North  Car- 
olina, and  a  few  zealous  men  thought  the  way  was  open  to  push 
the  work  far  into  that  State.  Young  men  pressed  beyond  the  bor- 
ders, organized  some  feeble  churches,  and  published  appeals  for 
help;  but  the  church  did  not  respond,  and  these  little  picket  sta- 
tions were  abandoned. 

Cumberland  Presbyterians  have  penetrated  into  West  Virginia 
through  the  natural  expansion  of  the  church  in  western  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  mainly  under  the  ministry  of  Pennsylvania  pastors  liv- 
ing near  enough  to  give  a  part  of  their  time  to  the  work  beyond 
the  State  line.  One  congregation  in  West  Virginia  has  considera- 
ble strength,  but  our  people  have  no  presbytery  in  that  State,  and 
never  had  any  missionary  in  that  field. 

It  was  by  the  natural  expansion  of  the  forces  of  the  church  that 
Cumberland  Presbyterians  extended  their  boundaries  into  Georgia. 
In  East  Tennessee  and  in  Alabama,  all  along  the  Georgia  border, 
there  are  congregations  of  our  people.  Members  of  these  churches 
were  constantly  moving  to  Georgia,  and  writing  back  to  their  pas- 


358  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  iv. 

tors  to  come  and  preach  for  them.  Prominent  among  the  minis- 
ters who  responded  to  this  call  was  the  Rev.  A.  Templeton,  then 
of  Chattanooga,  Tennessee,  Finally  one  of  our  preachers  settled 
in  Georgia.  This  was  the  Rev.  Z.  M.  McGhee.  The  war  made 
Georgia  the  temporary  home  of  many  a  Cumberland  Presbyterian 
minister,  the  Rev.  A.  Templeton  among  the  rest. 

An  anecdote  of  Templeton  taken  from  the  papers  is  here  con- 
densed. He  was  preaching  at  a  Georgia  meeting-house  at  a  time 
when  either  blue  coats  or  gray  might  be  expected  at  church.  Sure 
enotlgfh  at  one  meeting  the  gray  coats  were  there.  The  services 
began,  and  were  progressing  quietly,  but  with  deep  interest,  when 
lip  rode  a  company  of  blue  coats.  Mr.  Templeton  turned  to  the 
Southern  soldiers  and  said:  "Keep  your  seats.  If  you  really  want 
to  worship  God,  he  will  not  allow  you  to  be  hurt."  They  remained 
in  their  seats.  The  Federal  soldiers  then  entered.  Mr.  Templeton 
said  to  them:  "  Please  be  seated,  gentlemen,  and  let  us  all  worship 
God  a  few  moments  together."  They  did  as  he  requested.  In  a 
few  moments  the  whole  house  was  in  tears.  The  petty  contests  of 
this  little  life  were  all  forgotten.  Eternal  things  pressed  every 
heart.  There  were  that  day  souls  born  of  God.  When  the  bene- 
diction was  pronounced,  each  company  of  soldiers  followed  its  own 
leader  and  went  quietly  away  without  any  fighting. 

Cumberland  Presbyterians  have  in  Georgia  one  little  presbyter}' 
with  nine  ministers,  four  licentiates,  and  two  candidates.  We  have 
no  missionary  in  this  field,  though  precious  interests  are  at  stake 
there.  At  Rome  there  are  several  valuable  members,  but  they 
have  no  house  of  worship  and  no  minister.  In  Atlanta  our  people 
once  had  a  mission,  but  it  was  allowed  to  die,  although  the  influx 
of  members  from  Alabama  and  Tennessee  might  in  a  few  years 
have  made  it  self-sustaining. 

Kansas  was  settled  amid  scenes  of  blood,  not  blood  shed  b}- 
Indians,  but  brothers  butchering  brothers.  There  were  Cumber- 
land Presbyterians  in  both  the  angry  parties  which  struggled  for 
supremacy  in  that  State.  The  repeal  of  "the  Missouri  compro- 
mise" and  the  law  leaving  the  first  settlers  to  decide  for  themselves 
whether  Kansas  should  be  a  free  or  a  slave  State  opened  the  gates 
of  civil  war.     No  full  history  of  that  bloody  struggle  has  ever  been 


Chapter  XXXIV.]  KANSAS.  359 

written.  It  was  crowded  back  into  forgetfulness  by  the  greater 
contest  which  so  soon  followed.  Nevertheless  it  was  really  a  war, 
with  armies,  battles,  and  campaigns — war  to  the  knife  between  two 
parties  coming  to  live  in  the  same  Territory. 

Kansas  was  opened  to  white  settlers  late  in  1854,  under  an  act 
that  led  slave  and  free  States  alike  to  send  armed  emigrants  thither, 
each  aiming  to  keep  out  the  other  party  by  force.  The  rush  of 
emigrants  was  stimulated  by  the  angry  political  strife  of  the  day. 
To  gain  in  Congress  the  votes  of  a  new  State  was  the  aim  of  each 
party;  to  use  force  in  keeping  out  emigrants  from  States  unfavor- 
able to  the  schemes  of  its  partisans  was  the  policy  of  each. 

A  peaceably  disposed  Cumberland  Presbyterian  emigrant,  while 
on  his  way  to  Kansas  in  1854  to  preach  Jesus  to  the  settlers,  wrote 
a  letter  which  was  published  in  the  church  paper.  He  thus 
describes  the  scene  at  the  ferry  across  the  Missouri  River  at  Weston, 
Missouri : 

The  crowd  of  passengers  wishing  to  cross  had  become  so  great  that 
we  were  somewhat  doubtful  of  the  safety  of  embarking  on  so  crazy  a 
craft  with  so  large  a  number  of  passengers.  The  ferryman  assured  us, 
however,  that  there  was  no  danger,  and  that  if  we  waited  until  the  next 
trip  we  would  only  find  matters  worse,  as  the  crowd  would  probably 
be  greater  than  it  now  was.  We,  therefore,  ventured  on  his  boat,  but 
such  cramming  and  jamming  of  buggies,  wagons,  horses,  mules,  and 
footmen  on  a  little  crazy  steam  ferry-boat  we  have  never  seen,  and  do 
not  care  to  see  again  soon.  We  took  the  pains  to  count  them  and  found 
that  there  were  about  eighty  persons  on  board,  most  of  whom  were 
going  over  into  the  new  Territory  to  stake  out  their  claims  and  take 
possession  of  the  soil.  They  were  generally  equipped  according  to 
border  life,  having  a  set  of  camping  furniture,  besides  axes,  hatchets, 
butcher  and  Bowie-knives,  guns,  pistols,  and  other  weapons  of  the 
chase  ^nd  of  warfare,  offensive  and  defensive.  We  began  to  feel  as  if 
we  had  got  into  the  wrong  crowd,  being  entirely  unarmed,  whilst  every 
one  about  us  seemed  to  be  armed  to  the  teeth.  A  more  daring,  reso- 
lute, reckless  set  of  men  we  have  scarcely  ever  looked  upon.  Each 
man  seemed  to  say  by  his  airs  and  gait,  "  I  am  able,  single-handed  and 
alone,  to  vindicate  my  rights  against  all  intruders."  Still  we  found 
that  beneath  this  rough  and  forbidding  exterior  there  was  generally  a 
current  of  warm  and  genial  feeling. 

The  river  once  passed,  they  branched  off  in  every  direction,  each 
in  search  of  some  spot  on  which  to  locate  his  claim.     As  we  rode  off 


360  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  iv. 

we  saw  on  the  other  biiiik  another  company  equally  large  awaiting  the 
return  of  the  boat.  The  ferryman  a^suied  us  that  he  had  been  kept 
busily  engaged  from  morning  till  night  tor  the  last  two  or  three  weeks 
in  ferrying  immigrants.  Most  of  those  whom  we  saw  were  from 
upper  Ivlissouri,  but  they  were  already  beginning  to  arrive  in  consider- 
able numbers  from  all  the  Western  States,  though  but  a  single  month 
had  elapsed  since  the  opening  of  the  country. 

Kansas  did  not  become  a  State  of  the  Union  till  1861,  but  sol- 
diers of  the  Cross  were  as  ready  to  rusli  thither  in  the  beginning 
as  the  soldiers  of  political  parties.  Early  in  1855,  under  the  min- 
istry of  the  Rev.  C.  B.  Hodges,  the  Round  Prairie  church  was 
formed.  This,  it  is  claimed,  was  the  first  Cumberland  Presbyte- 
rian consfreijation  orcranized  on  Kansas  soil.  According  to  an 
order  of  Missouri  Synod,  Kansas  Presbytery  was  organized  Novem- 
ber 16,  1855.'  The  original  members  were  W.  W.  Bell,  Benjamin 
McCrary,  C.  B.  Plodges,  A.  A.  Moore,  Thomas  Allen,  and  O.  Guth- 
rie. The  two  last  named  were  not  present  at  the  organization. 
The  presbytery  met  in  a  school-house  in  Leavenworth  County, 
near  the  dwelling  of  the  Rev.  B.  McCrary.  A.  A.  ]\Ioore  was 
moderator.  There  were  some  licentiates  and  candidates  from  the 
first,  and  one  of  the  licentiates,  A.  P.  Searcy,  was  ordered  to  pre- 
pare for  ordination  at  the  next  meeting. 

This  presbytery  had  all  of  Kansas  for  its  field,  though  a  large 
portion  of  the  territory  was  without  a  single  inhabitant.  All  of 
its  ministers  lived  north  of  Kansas  River,  while  settlements 
abounded  south  of  the  river,  and  earnest  appeals  came  up  from 
that  region  begging  for  the  bread  of  life.  The  presbytery  took 
the  very  best  steps  in  its  power  toward  respotiding  to  these  appeals, 
urging  all  the  churches  and  every  member  to  contribute  money  to 
sectire  preachers.  At  its  very  first  meeting  it  passed  strong  resolu- 
tions against  whisky.  Of  the  original  members  two  still  live, 
Moore  and  Hodges. 

Leavenworth  Presbytery  was  next  organized,  and  then  followed 
two  others.  The  territory  assigned  to  these  new  presbyteries  was 
all  carved  out  of  the  field  first  assigned  to  Kansas  Presbytery.     The 

'Valuable  extracts  from  the  Minutes  and  other  items  were  furnished  me  by  the 
stated  clerk,  the  Rev.  William  Spencer. 


Chapter  XXXIV.]  KANSAS.  361 

original  Kansas  Presbytery  now  has  twenty-five  congregations  and 
nine  hundred  and  eighteen  communicants.  There  is  still  great 
need  of  more  preachers  in  that  country.  There  are  Cumberland 
Presbyterian  families  scattered  over  all  the  State.  The  Rev.  W. 
Spencer  and  the  Rev.  R.  H.  Shearer  are  the  only  Cumberland  Pres- 
byterian ministers  in  Kansas  who  are  natives  of  that  State. 

In  1857  the  Missionary  Board  at  Lebanon,  Tennessee,  commis- 
sioned the  Rev.  A.  A.  Moore  to  travel  as  missionary  in  Kansas. 
He  spent  several  years  in  this  work  and  had  good  success.  In 
1859  the  board  sent  the  Rev.  J.  B.  Green  (now  the  Rev.  Dr.  Green, 
of  Nebraska)  to  travel  as  missionary  in  the  country  around  Fort 
Leavenworth.  He  had  some  very  fruitful  revivals  and  did  valuable 
service. 

The  Directory,  1886,  shows  that  Kansas  Presbytery  has  thirteen 
ministers,  two  licentiates,  and  one  candidate;  Leavenworth  Pres- 
bytery five,  and  Republican  Valley  Presbytery  eight  ministers; 
and  Wichita  Presbytery,  twelve  ministers  and  one  candidate.  The 
members  of  the  church  in  Kansas  should  ask  the  Lord  to  call  their 
own  sous  to  preach  the  gospel. 


362  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  iv. 


CHAPTER  XXXV. 


MISCELLANEOUS. 

Hush,  my  troubled  heart  be  still, 
God  is  faithful  come  what  will. 

— Anna  Shipton. 

THERE  has  always  been  a  party  in  the  Cumberland  Presbyte- 
rian church  opposed  to  concentration,  and  another  party 
which  has  believed  it  necessary  to  combine  the  forces  of  the  church 
in  some  of  the  greater  enterprises,  especially  in  our  denominational 
schools.  Milton  Bird  and  F.  R.  Cossitt,  as  editors  respectively  of 
the  two  leading  church  papers,  took  opposite  sides  of  this  ques- 
tion. The  policy  advocated  by  Dr.  Cossitt  was  concentration  on 
one  or  two  colleges,  one  or  two  papers,  and  one  theological  school. 
Though  Robert  Donnell  and  many  other  thoughtful  men  gave  their 
voices  on  this  side  of  the  question,  their  views  did  not  prevail. 
The  church  had  to  learn  by  experience,  and  this  period,  from  1842 
to  i860,  was  full  of  lessons  on  this  subject.  • 

It  was  no  uncommon  thing  for  a  single  presbyter}^'  to  resolve  to 
have  an  endowed  college  of  its  own.  Thus,  Tennessee  Presbyter}^, 
in  1850,  resolved  to  establish  and  endow  a  college.  Purdy  College 
had  a  still  smaller  ecclesiastical  backing.  Such  efforts  showed 
clearly  that  many  of  our  people  had  no  correct  idea  of  what  con- 
stitutes a  college.  We  had  at  one  time  in  this  period  fifteen  char- 
tered colleges  for  young  men,  besides  several  similar  institutions 
for  young  ladies.  Fifteen  does  not  exhaust  the  list  for  the  whole 
period,  but  this  is  the  largest  number  that  simultaneously  existed. 
Some  of  the  schools  did  not  live  five  years. 

But,  in  the  course  of  time,  these  evils  began  to  correct  them- 
selves. Young  men  who  went  from  these  mushroom  colleges  to 
real  ones  had  their  eyes  opened.  The  little  school  which  suddenly 
sprung  up  as  a  rival  of  an  older  institution  and  called  itself  a  col- 
lege, soon  found  some  other  little  college  springing  up  in  its  field, 


Chapter  XXXV.]  MISCELLANEOUS.  363 

rivaling  it,  until,  sooner  or  later,  came  the  death  agonies  of  both. 
Of  the  fifteen  Cumberland  Presbyterian  colleges  which,  in  1859, 
had  a  name  to  live,  only  three  now  survive.  Each  of  these  three 
had  secured  some  little  endowment,  though  by  no  means  enough. 

For  more  than  twenty  years  the  General  Assembly  tried  to 
obtain  harmonious  reports  from  the  presbyteries  in  reference  to  a 
theological  school.  Some  of  the  presbyteries  favored  presbyterial, 
and  some  synodical,  and  some  General  Assembly  schools.  There 
was  no  harmony,  and  the  Assembly  waited,  declaring  meantime  its 
opinion  that  it  would  be  wisest  to  establish  one  school  for  the 
whole  church.  At  different  times  this  question  was  sent  down  to 
the  presbyteries;  but  while  the  responses  showed  a  steady  increase; 
in  the  number  of  voices  in  favor  of  giving  the  exclusive  control  of 
such  schools  to  the  General  Assembly,  there  was  still  too  much 
conflict  to  allow  that  body  to  establish  such  an  institution. 

The  last  reference  of  this  question  to  the  presbyteries  was  made 
in  1848,  and  when  the  response  came  back  in  1849  with  something 
like  unanimity  in  favor  of  a  theological  school  under  the  control 
of  the  General  Assembly,  there  was  great  rejoicing.  Steps  were 
taken  at  once  toward  the  establishment  of  such  a  school.  At  first 
the  rival  claims  of  two  colleges  made  the  Assembly  agree  that 
there  should  be  two  schools;  but  this  matter  was  soon  adjusted, 
and  one  school  for  the  whole  church,  to  be  located  at  Lebanon, 
Tennessee,  was  undertaken. 

There  were  some  delays  in  getting  this  school  into  successful 
operation.  Meantime  the  Assembly  of  1852  was  thrown  into  con- 
fusion by  the  action  of  Bethel  College,  in  West  Tennessee.  Before 
the  charter  of  this  college  was  a  year  old  it  resolved  to  establish  a 
theological  school  and  send  out  agents  for  its  endowment,  appeal- 
ing to  the  whole  church  for  contributions.  This  had  the  appear- 
ance of  an  attempt  to  head  off"  the  General  Assembly.  West  Ten- 
nessee Synod,  under  whose  control  Bethel  College  held  its  charter, 
had  many  members  who  opposed  this  measure.  So,  too,  had  even 
the  Board  of  Trust  and  Faculty  of-  Bethel  College.  There  were, 
however,  three  controlling  spirits  who  advanced  the  scheme  and 
carried  it  through  the  synod.  These  were  Reuben  Burrow,  J.  N. 
Roach,  and  C.  J.  Bradley. 


364  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  iv 

Three  years  prior  to  this  action  Mr.  Roach  had  been  in  charge  of 
a  flourishing  school  for  young  ladies  at  Lebanon,  Tennessee.  When 
the  school  was  in  its  greatest  prosperity  grave  charges  were  made 
against  Mr.  Roach,  of  which  he  was  afterward  fully  acquitted;  but 
although  he  was  doubtless  innocent  of  the  things  charged  against 
him,  yet  the  tide  of  public  prejudice  ran  high  enough  to  break  up 
his  school.  Deeply  hurt,  he  left  Lebanon  and  went  immediately 
to  West  Tennessee  and  set  to  work  to  establish  a  college  there.  As 
West  Tennessee  lay  between  Lebanon  and  the  field  from  which  the 
university  at  Lebanon  drew  its  principal  patronage,  many  questioned 
the  wisdom  of  this  course.  Mr.  Roach,  though  not  a  thorough 
scholar,  was  a  man  of  splendid  natural  abilities,  and  he  had  an 
amazing  capacity  for  hard  work.  He  had,  too,  a  commanding 
influence  over  the  common  people,  and  his  plan  for  the  establish- 
ment of  a  college  was  carried  through  the  West  Tennessee  Synod 
mainly  by  his  personal  influence.  He  next  planned  a  theological 
department,  naming  Dr.  Burrow  and  the  Rev.  C.  J.  Bradley  as 
prospective  professors. 

West  Tennessee  Synod  was  then  in  a  sharp  controversy  with 
Lebanon  men  about  the  revision  of  the  Confession  of  Faith.  Dr. 
Burrow  was  not  only  a  leader  in  advocating  revision,  but,  on  va- 
rious points,  he  held  doctrines  which  were  not  in  strict  harmony 
with  the  creed  of  the  church,  and  he  seemed  to  feel  under  solemn 
obligations  to  propagate  his  peculiar  views.  A  theological  school 
would  enable  him  more  effectually  to  do  this,  therefore  Mr.  Roach 
easily  won  him  to  his  plans.  Burrow's  voice  carried  the  measure 
through  the  synod. 

When  the  General  Assembly  of  1852  met  severe  resolutions  of 
condemnation  against  this  project  of  Bethel  College  were  offered, 
and  after  hot  discussion  were  in  a  fair  way  to  pass,  when  the  Rev. 
C.  J.  Bradley  rose  in  his  place  and  warned  the  Assembly  that  the 
passage  of  these  resolutions  would  be  the  signal  for  the  secession 
of  West  Tennessee  Synod.  That  was  then  the  largest  synod  in  the 
church.  Mr.  Bradley's  announcement  checked  proceedings.  The 
Assembly  adopted  pacific  measures,  simply  entreating  the  lower 
judicatures  to  co-operate  with  the  Assembly's  school,  and  left 
Bethel  College  to  pursue  its  course.     For  many  years  Dr.  Burrow's 


Chapter  XXXV.]  MISCELLANEOUS.  365 

theological  pupils  adopted  the  Confession  of  Faith  only  in  part, 
openly  stating  their  partial  adoption  of  the  book  at  their  ordina- 
tion. 

This  case  suggests  a  very  different  matter.  One  of  the  living 
questions  now  pressing  on  all  the  denominations  is  how  to  protect 
their  theological  schools  from  teachers  who  change  their  views 
after  their  appointment  to  professorships. 

In  the  chapter  on  missions  it  was  seen  that  it  was  with  difficulty 
that  co-operation  with  a  general  board  was  secured.  There  were 
fears  by  some  that  the  general  board  would  become  a  pope.  But 
the  danger  in  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  church  has  never  been 
in  the  direction  of  the  pope,  but  in  the  other  direction.  Independ- 
ence, which  regards  neither  session,  presbytery,  assembly,  nor  the 
general  welfare,  has  more  frequently  paralyzed  our  enterprises. 
There  is  a  medium  between  the  centralization  which  makes  a  pope 
and  the  private  independence  which  makes  anarchy.  God  in  his 
providence  is  slowly  leading  the  church  to  this  medium  ground. 

One  of  the  measures  often  proposed  in  the  General  Assembly 
in  this  period  was  the  consolidation  of  the  church  papers.  There 
were  at  one  time  seven  of  these  weeklies.  It  cost  a  preacher  not 
less  than  fourteen  dollars  to  secure  the  news  from  all  parts  of  the 
field,  while  a  communication  intended  for  the  whole  church  had  to 
be  sent  to  seven  editors.  Each  of  the  seven  had  a  circulation 
mainly  local,  and  the  support  of  each  was  too  meager  to  command 
first-class  facilities.  To  have  one  paper  owned  by  the  church,  or  the 
presbyteries,  was  one  of  the  plans  proposed.  It  is  a  curious  fact 
that  the  New  York  Observer  took  a  special  interest  on  the  negative 
side  of  this  discussion.  Its  objection  was  that  the  scheme  put  too 
much  power  into  the  hands  of  one  editor. 

A  sample  of  the  arguments  used  by  those  who  favored  this  plan 
is  found  in  the  following  extract  from  a  communication  published 
in  the  Watchman  and  Evangelist: 

A  change  has  come  over  me  in  regard  to  the  church  paper  which 
has  been  so  much  talked  of.  The  arguments  in  favor  of  one  paper 
for  the  whole  church  preponderate  in  my  judgment.  A  like  change  is 
discoverable  in  those  who,  in  this  region,  take  any  of  our  papers. 

"In  union  there  is  strength,"  is  an  indisputable  maxim.     Had  the 


366  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  iv. 

church  adhered  to  this  in  all  its  important  undertakings,  our  spiritual 
momentum  would  have  been  greater  than  it  now  is.  Had  no  more  lit- 
erary institutions  been  planted  than  the  pecuniary  ability  of  the  church 
could  have  amply  furnished  and  rendered  potent,  our  educational  facili- 
ties would  have  been  far  in  advance  of  what  they  now  are.  Mere  local 
interests  have  operated  against  the  general  good,  and  originated,  here  and 
there,  schools  of  various  grades  until  they  have  become  so  numerous  as 
to  be  burdensome  and  meagerly  supported.  A  similar  error  has  been 
committed  in  our  publishing  enterprises.  Local  interests  have  been  re- 
garded as  the  sine  qua  non,  until  blindness  to  the  general  well-being  of 
the  whcfle  body  has  come  over  our  eyes. 

One  presbytery  or  synod  conceives  it  to  be  important  that  a  paper 
should  be  published  within  its  bounds  to  advocate  the  cause  in  that 
quarter.  Another,  in  another  portion  of  the  body,  is  actuated  by  a  simi- 
lar reason,  and  so  on  until  the  patronage  of  the  church  is  cut  up  into 
small  sectional  divisions,  and  none  of  the  papers  sufficiently  well  sup- 
ported to  give  us  even  one  of  the  right  character.  By  this  division  of 
our  strength,  our  name  and  influence  evidently  suffer.  The  Cumber- 
land Presbyterian  church  has  had  experience  of  this  kind  to  its  sorrow. 
Why  should  we  support  this  evil  policy  in  regard  to  an  enterprise  which 
affects  so  directly  the  vital  interests  of  the  whole  church.^  Or  will  we 
continue  to  disregard  those  lessons  of  wisdom  to  be  learned  from  our 
past  history? 

Another  evil  growing  out  of  the  strenuous  advocacy  of  these  local 
publishing  interests  is  strife.  An  attempt  to  originate  a  paper  and  sup- 
port it  in  a  body  already  too  feeble  to  maintain  well  what  it  has,  curtails 
the  patronage  of  those  of  prior  existence.  But  each  watches  its  own 
interests  with  a  jealous  eye,  and  upon  the  first  appearance  of  infringe- 
ment upon  its  dominions  takes  up  the  sword,  and  the  result  not  unfre- 
quently  is  the  disturbance  of  the  peace  of  the  church  by  a  newspaper 
war.     Has  there  not  been  sad  experience  in  this  very  thing? 

This  writer  also  pressed  two  other  arguments:  the  cost  to  one  per- 
son who  desired  to  take  all  the  papers  and  secure  the  news  from  the 
whole  church,  and  the  fact  that  all  seven  of  the  weeklies  copied 
from  one  another,  so  that  such  a  subscriber  got  much  of  the  same 
matter  in  all  of  the  seven  papers. 

On  the  negative  I  find  all  the  arguments  are  capable  of  reduction 
to  these:  It  was  claimed  that  local  interests  in  remote  parts  of  the 
church  would  suffer  under  the  one  paper  plan,  and  that  more  peo- 
ple can  be  induced  to  take  a  paper  published  in  their  own  locality 
than  one  from  a  distant  part  of  the  church. 


Chapter  XXXV.]  MISCELLANEOUS.  367 

One  writer  pressed  another  and  a  strong  argument  in  these 
words : 

Should  controversy  arise  on  important  subjects,  under  the  trammels 
of  the  "one  paper"  system  the  editorial  authority  would  have  the  right 
to  sit  in  judgment  upon  the  propriety  of  admitting  or  not  admitting 
articles  on  either  side  in  controversy,  which  might  unknowingly  be  pro- 
ductive of  much  ill-feeling,  and  do  great  injury  to  certain  brethren  and 
some  portion  of  the  church.  Should  the  editorial  authority  come  to  the 
conclusion,  as  has  once  occurred,  that  nothing  should  be  published  until 
the  judicature  had  taken  action,  then  the  whole  church  must  abide  the 
decisions  for  the  time,  or  appear  in  the  unenviable  attitude  of  scattering 
church  dissensions  in  secular  newspapers. 

The  one  paper  scheme  failed,  but  the  Assembly  appealed  to  the 
editors  to  combine  and  reduce  the  number  of  papers.  In  this  way, 
and  still  more  by  the  failure  of  several  of  the  weaker  publications, 
the  number  was  considerably  diminished.  There  was  a  deeper  les- 
son from  financial  failure  than  from  the  voice  of  the  Assembly. 

The  books  published  by  Cumberland  Presbyterians  in  this 
period  were  neither  many  nor  large.  It  was  a  time  of  too  great 
activity  in  planting  churches  and  inaugurating  new  enterprises  to 
allow  much  book  making.  One  of  the  most  valuable  books  ever 
published  on  the  subject  of  training  children  was  Dr.  Lindley's 
Infant  Philosophy.  The  stereotype  plates  for  this  book  were  lost 
in  1858,  and  it  has  never  been  republished.  The  copyright  was 
bought  by  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  Board  of  Publication  at 
Louisville  in  1853.  ^^-  E-  ^-  Crisman's  little  volume,  "The  Ori- 
gin and  Doctrines  of  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  Church,"  met  a 
demand  which  was  keenly  felt  prior  to  that  time.  The  Rev.  John 
L.  Dillard  published  a  little  book  in  reply  to  Lewis  A.  Lowry, 
who  left  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  church  and  bitterly  attacked 
it  in  a  volume  which  was  brought  out  by  the  Presbyterian  Pub- 
lishing House.  It  was  the  general  opinion  among  our  people 
that  Dillard  gave  the  young  man  a  well-deserved  castigation.  Va- 
rious newspapers  of  other  churches  expressed  the  same  opinion. 
Mr.  Lowry 's  book  was  in  the  form  of  letters  addressed  to  his  fa- 
ther, the  Rev.  David  Lowry.  The  latter,  it  is  said,  never  read  a 
line  of  these  letters. 

One  of  the  most  scholarly  books  of  this  period  was,  ' '  The  Life 


368  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  iv. 

and  Times  of  Ewing,"  by  Dr.  Cossitt.  The  very  nature  of  the 
subject  made  the  book  necessarily  controversial.  At  the  close  of 
the  book  is  a  severe  but  able  review  of  Davidson's  History  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church  in  Kentucky.  But  most  of  our  people  have 
grown  tired  of  fighting  over  the  old  battles  with  the  Presbyterian 
church,  and  such  is  their  lack  of  interest  in  this  subject  that  they 
will  not  buy  books  devoted  to  that  old  contest.  The  writer  of  these 
pages  has  been  entreated  by  many  of  the  purest  and  best  men  in 
the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  church  to  pass  over  all  that  old  bit- 
terness just  as  lightly  as  the  truth  of  history  will  permit.  This 
he  has  done.' 

President  Anderson's  Life  of  George  Donnell  was  published  in 
this  period,  and  is  generally  regarded  as  the  best  biographical  book 
in  our  church.  It  would  be  hard  to  find  a  better  biography  in  any 
church. 

Dr.  Beard  began  the  publication  of  his  great  work  on  systematic 
theology  in  this  period.  These  lectures  present  the  genuine  origi- 
nal Cumberland  Presbyterian  system  of  doctrine.  There  is  more 
Calvinism  in  the  book  than  some  of  our  modern  theologians  like, 
but  not  more  than  the  whole  of  the  first  generation  of  our  minis- 
ters preached.  This  book  will  stand  as  a  landmark  from  which  we 
can  measure  from  age  to  age  any  drifting  away  of  our  theology 
from  orthodoxy. 

While  Dr.  Beard  was  never  brilliant,  and  never  relied  on  any 
extemporaneous  afflatus,  his  profound  and  patient  research  always 
went  to  the  bottom  of  any  subject  which  he  investigated,  and  then 
swept  around  all  the  adjacent  field  before  he  attempted  to  write  his 
lecture.  Loyalty  to  Scripture,  without  a  particle  of  ambition  for 
originality,  marked  all  his  work.  From  first  to  last  there  is  in  his 
book  no  harsh  word  about  other  theological  systems  or  teachers. 
He  labored  simply,  by  prayer  and  severe  study,  to  give  God's  sys- 
tem as  it  is  found  in  the  Bible.  With  a  profound  knowledge  of  the 
original  Scripture,  with  a  world-wide  acquaintance  with  theolog- 
ical writers,  he  devoted  the  best  years  of  his  noble  life  to  the  prep- 
aration of  his  lectures.     If  his  church  ever  fails  to  appreciate  this 

•  It  is  necessary  to  know  something  of  the  number  of  false  charges  made  against 
our  people  before  the  extent  of  mj  forbearance  in  this  matter  can  be  appreciated. 


Rev.  R.  0.  Watk  ins. 


Rev.  Reuben  Burrow.D.D. 


Rev.  J.  B.  Logan, D.D. 


Chapter  XXXV.]  MISCELLANEOUS.  369 

book,  SO  much  the  worse  for  the  church.  There  are  so  many  orig- 
inal thinkers  in  modern  times  that  it  is  hard  to  find  among  them 
one  who  is  willing  to  draw  all  his  theology  from  God's  own  revela- 
tion. Human  philosophy  must  shape  and  sqil^re  and  trim  and 
smooth  the  Scripture  system,  eliminating  here,  supplementing 
there,  until  with  great  truth  the  original  thinker  can  at  last  say. 
This  is  my  system. 

About  twenty  other  books  were  brought  out  by  Cumberland 
Presbyterians  in  this  period,  but  none  of  them  call  for  any  special 
notice  in  this  history.  There  was  not  a  single  devotional  book 
published  by  any  of  our  people,  nor  has  there  been  to  this  day  any 
great  amount  of  devotional  literature  among  our  publications. 
Controversial  writings,  usque  ad  nauseam^  we  have  had,  but  very 
few  works  which  would  ever  lead  a  soul  to  Christ.  The  second 
period  in  the  history  of  the  church  presented  better  things  in  this 
respect  than  the  fourth. 

In  this  period  there  were  long  controversies  on  doctrinal  ques- 
tions. One  of  these  questions  was  whether  or  not  faith  should  ever 
be  called  the  gift  of  God.  On  both  sides  in  this  controversy  there 
seemed  to  be  fears  that  the  other  party  held  doctrines  which  it  not 
only  did  not  avow  but  indignantly  disclaimed.  A  patient  study 
of  all  the  long  controversy  has  satisfied  the  writer  that  there  was 
no  difference  at  all  between  the  parties  about  the  real  nature  of 
faith.  Both  said  that  the  sinner  could  not  believe  unto  salvation 
without  the  Holy  Spirit's  aid,  and  that  the  act  of  believing  was  the 
act  of  the  sinner  thus  aided,  and  not  the  act  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 
The  disputants  agreed,  too,  as  to  the  manner  in  which  the  Holy 
Spirit  aids  the  sinner — that  he  sheds  light  on  the  way  of  salvation, 
on  the  wonderful  love  and  the  gracious  words  of  Christ  to  all  who 
seek  him,  until  the  heart  is  won  to  trust  him.  The  real  question 
was  whether  this  assistance  thus  given  by  the  Spirit  justifies  us  in 
calling  faith  a  grace — a  gift  of  God.  One  party  charged  the  other 
with  holding  that  faith  is  created  in  the  sinner's  heart  by  a  divine 
act.  The  other  party  retorted :  ' '  You  hold  to  an  unaided  human 
faith,  merely  historical."     Neither  charge  was  just. 

There  was  also  a  long  controversy  about  sanctification.  One 
party,  led  by  Dr.  Reuben  Burrow,  advocated  the  Zinzendorfian 
24 


370  CuMBERLANr)  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  iv. 

view  of  sanctification.  The  other  party,  and  by  far  the  larger  one, 
held  to  the  doctrine  of  the  Confession,  which  is  the  same  as  the 
doctrine  of  the  Westminster  Confession.  There  were  also  sharp 
controversies  between  Dr.  Burrow  and  his  brethren  generally  on 
various  doctrines  wherein  Burrow  differed  from  the  Confession  of 
Faith.  Infant  justification  was  prominent  among  these  subjects 
of  controversy.  Dr.  Burrow  held  that  infants  are  born  in  a  jus- 
tified state. 

There  were  so  many  points  in  which  Burrow  departed  from  the 
traditional  teachings  of  the  church,  and  he  pressed  his  views  so 
persistently  in  the  church  papers,  that  one  presbytery  finally  took 
official  action,  warning  its  young  preachers  against  these  doctrines. 
This  warning  was  published  in  the  papers.  Then  came  a  sharp 
controversy  about  the  rights  of  presbyteries.  Burrow  said  that 
though  he  was  not  a  member  of  this  presbytery,  nor  amenable  to 
it,  yet  it  had  assumed  to  try  and  condemn  him.  In  answer  to  this 
it  was  said  that  the  presbytery  did  not  try  men,  but  doctrines;  that 
the  Book  of  Discipline  made  it  the  duty  of  presbyteries  to  condemn 
erroneous  doctrines  which  were  injuring  the  peace  of  the  church. 
Burrow's  friends  then  pleaded  his  noble  service  as  an  evangelist  on 
our  frontiers  as  proof  of  his  soundness  in  doctrine,  and  with  that 
the  controversy  closed. 

Another  controversy  was  about  abolishing  the  synod.  S.  G. 
Burney,  D.D.,  led  the  affirmative  in  this  discussion.  Many  of  the 
old  men  of  the  church  took  the  other  side.  The  synod  was  not 
abolished.  A  proposition  to  revise  the  Confession  of  Faith  was 
also  discussed.  Some  of  the  papers  declined  to  publish  any  thing 
on  this  subject.  Others  opened  their  columns,  but  men  hesitated 
to  discuss  general  questions  in  local  papers. 

The  tone  of  church  controversies  has  greatly  improved  since 
1842.  The  Rev.  W.  S.  Langdon,  while  editor,  announced  this  as  his 
rule:  "No  writer  shall  publish  in  these  columns  any  thing  about 
his  brethren  which  I  would  be  unwilling  to  have  him  publish  about 
me." 

In  this  fourth  period  camp-meetings  in  all  the  older  portions  of 
the  church  died  a  lingering  death.  Of  the  later  meetings  of  this 
kind  only  a  few  were  equal  in  results  to  those  of  earlier  times.     At 


Chapter  XXXV.]  MISCELLANEOUS.  37I 

Bethel  church,  Carroll  County,  Tennessee,  there  were  three  camp- 
meetings  between  1846  and  1850,  all  of  them  like  the  old  gatherings 
of  other  days.  John  Barnett  attended  one  of  these  meetings.  Besides 
preaching  with  holy  ^^ower,  he  went  from  camp  to  camp,  and  from 
person  to  person,  preaching  Christ  in  private  interviews  as  well  as 
from  the  pulpit.  At  one  of  these  meetings  two  hundred  mourners 
bowed  simultaneously  in  the  great  congregation.  The  mighty 
power  of  God  was  present. 

An  unusually  large  number  of  church  trials  occurred  during 
this  period.  Some  men  of  the  highest  standing  were  arraigned  on 
the  gravest  charges  before  their  presbyteries.  The  verdict  in  most 
cases,  not  all,  was  "not  guilty,"  and  after  years  approved  these 
verdicts. 

A  long  and  profitless  controversy  over  the  restoration  of  J.  A. 
Dewoody  to  the  ministry  by  one  presbytery  after  he  had  been  de- 
posed by  another,  though  always  decided  against,  this  restoration 
kept  finding  new  methods  of  getting  before  the  General  Assembly 
and  annoying  that  body. 

There  was  a  fierce  controversy  between  Hopewell  Presbytery  and 
a  Methodist  presiding  elder  over  the  reception  by  the  presbytery  of 
a  minister  who  had  been  deposed  by  the  Methodists.  The  mem- 
bers of  the  presbytery  claimed  that  they  had  evidence  that  it  was 
personal  spite  in  the  elder  which  caused  this  man  to  be  deposed. 
There  have  been  sundry  instances  of  preachers  coming  to  the  Cum- 
berland Presbyterian  church  from  other  denominations  to  escape 
some  difficulty  with  their  own  churches,  but  no  such  accession  to 
our  ranks  has  ever  proved  valuable. 

There  were  long  newspaper  debates  during  this  period  between 
our  people  and  the  Baptists.  These  discussions  were  not  always 
conducted  in  a  Christian  spirit,  and  were  injurious  to  both  churches. 
Dr.  Burrow  published  a  book  on  baptism  full  of  hard  sayings- 
against  the  Baptists.  This  book  was  fiercely  assailed  by  Dr.  J. 
R.  Graves,  of  the  Baptist  church.  Then  there  were  oral  de- 
bates between  him  and  Dr.  Burrow,  and  between  Burrow  and  the 
Rev.  James  Hurt  Bitter  personal  charges  and  a  long  and  acrid 
newspaper  controversy  followed.  All  through  West  Tennessee 
Cumberland  Presbyterians  and   Baptists  became   like   Jews    and 


373  CUMBERtAND   PRESBYTERIAN   HiSTORY.  [Period  IV. 

Samaritans.     The  cause  of  the  Master  suffered  in  both  churches. 
May  no  such  unseemly  strife  ever  occur  again! 

There  was  also  a  protracted  controversy  on  doctrines  between 
Dr.  Cossitt  and  the  Presbyterians.  It  was  conducted  with  ability 
and  in  a  Christian  spirit  on  both  sides,  but  there  is  no  proof  that 
the  doctrinal  views  of  any  one  were  changed  by  this  discussion. 
However,  one  good  thing  at  least  came  of  it.  People  saw  that  two 
strong  men  could  differ  and  discuss  their  differences  without  trans- 
gressing the  rules  of  Christian  courtesy,  or  departing  from  the  spirit 
of  the  Master.     Such  a  lesson  was  needed. 


Chapter  XXXVI.]  SKETCHES  AND   INCIDENTS.  373 


CHAPTER   XXXVI. 


SKETCHES  AND  INCIDENTS. 

All  things  are  His,  and  all  obej 

His  wonder  working  will; 
E'en  common  things  have  life  and  speech, 

And  His  command  fulfill. 

— A  una  Shipton, 

IN  1843  Robert  Donnell  determined  to  establish  a  cliurcli  in 
Memphis,  Tennessee,  and  for  that  purpose  began  a  series  of 
meetings  in  that  place.  A  great  revival  followed.  Many  promi- 
nent citizens  were  converted,  and  Donnell  organized  a  church. 
This  church  promptly  called  him  as  its  pastor,  but  he  declined.  He 
however  remained  until  he  secured  money  enough  to  build  a  house 
of  worship.  He  wrote  the  subscription  and  made  the  canvass 
himself  It  is  said  that  ver^^  few  persons  refused  to  subscribe.  This 
house  stood  till  about  i860,  when  the  large  building  now  in  use  by 
that  congregation  was  erected. 

Matthew  H.  Bone  and  Hugh  B.  Hill  were  boys  together.  Their 
associations  were  of  the  most  intimate  character.  They  were  con- 
verted about  the  same  time.  One  day  Hill  said  to  his  dear  young 
friend:  "If  you  will  never  tell  any  one  I  will  communicate  to  you 
a  secret."  Bone  promised  not  to  betray  this  confidence,  where- 
upon Hill  said:  "I  believe  God  is  calling  me  to  preach  the  gospel." 
Bone  replied:  "I  believe  he  is  calling  me  to  the  same  work."  The 
two  boys  were  alone  together  in  the  woods,  and  they  wept  and 
prayed  together  there.  Months  passed  away,  and  Hill  had  another 
confidence  to  repose  in  his  friend.  It  was  that  he  had  concluded 
that  it  was  all  a  mistake  about  God  calling  him  to  preach.  To  his 
surprise  he  found  his  friend  had  also  reached  a  similar  conclusion. 
So  theybdth  agreed  to  abandon  all  thoughts  of  preaching  and  turn 
their  attention  to  something  else.  It  happened  that  they  went  to- 
gether soon  afterward  to  a  camp-meeting.     The  leading  preachers 


374  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  iv. 

of  Kentucky  were  j^resent.  Barnett  preached,  Chapman  preached, 
Delany  preached.  God's  spirit  was  poured  out.  Again  Hill  sought 
his  friend  and  told  him  that  all  his  old  impressions  had  come  back 
stronger  than  ever.  Bone  made  similar  statements  about  his  im- 
pressions. Before  the  meeting  closed  one  of  the  ministers  asked 
the  two  young  men  to  go  with  him  to  the  woods.  It  was  the  daily 
custom  at  the  camp-meetings  to  go  to  the  woods  for  secret  prayer. 
The  two  young  men  were  surprised  on  reaching  the  retreat  in  the 
grove  to  find  all  the  preachers  there  together.  It  was  a  precon- 
certed arrangement.  The  old  men  wanted  to  talk  to  these  two 
young  men  about  preaching.  The  result  was  that  Hill  and  Bone 
were  advised  to  attend  the  next  meeting  of  the  presbytery  and  be- 
come candidates  for  the  ministry.  After  that  these  two  friends 
traveled  together  on  the  circuit.  All  their  l\ves  they  worked  to- 
gether at  camp-meeting's.  Once  they  went  together  on  a  voluntary 
mission  to  Ohio,  and  the  origin  of  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian 
clun-ch  at  Lebanon,  Ohio,  is  due  to  that  mission.  In  Bone's  man- 
uscript he  says  that  Hill  in  his  riper  years  bitterly  regretted  that 
the  old  men  forced  him  away  from  school  and  put  him  on  the  cir- 
cuit before  his  education  was  completed. 

An  aged  minister,  the  Rev.  Benjamin  Watson,  who  began  life 
as  a  INIethodist,  but  joined  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  church 
afterward,  gives  at  the  close  of  his  manuscript  autobiography  some 
interesting  reflections.  He  says  his  long  experience  has  taught  him 
that  the  church's  best  members  and  most  of  its  converts  come  from 
the  Sabbath-school;  that  giving  to  the  poor  is  lending  to  the  Lord, 
and  that  only  out-and-out  consecration  to  the  ministry  has  any 
right  to  claim  the  gracious  promises  which  God  makes  about  the 
preacher's  temporal  necessities.  He  tried  teaching  and  preaching, 
but  could  not  claim  these  promises  and  did  not  realize  their  fulfill- 
ment. For  sixteen  years  he  tested  the  other  plan.  He  cast  him- 
self upon  God  to  preach  even  if  he  starv-ed.  Then  he  did  claim 
the  promises  and  did  realize  their  fulfillment. 

Mr.  Watson's  history  is  interesting  in  many  particulars.  His 
father  bitterly  opposed  his  entering  the  ministry-,  and  to  prevent 
his  riding  the  circuit  attempted  to  shoot  his  horse,  but,  just  as  he 
fired,  the  gun  was  thrown  up  and  the  ball  passed  over  the  animal. 


Chapter  XXXVI.]  SKETCHES   AND   INCIDENTS.  375 

Then  the  enraged  father  took  his  knife  and  cut  his  son's  saddle, 
bridle,  and  saddle-bags  to  pieces.  Not  content  with  that,  he  gath- 
ered up  all  the  young  man's  Sunday  clothing,  books  and  money, 
and  burned  them.  Then  he  struck  his  son  with  a  walkino-stick, 
and  seized  his  watch  chain,  and  jerking  the  watch  out  of  his  pocket 
broke  it  against  a  post.  The  boy  was  then  told  to  choose  be- 
tween giving  up  circuit  riding  and  leaving  his  home  forever.  Ben- 
jamin took  his  final  choice  then  and  there.  He  bade  mother  and 
sister  good-bye,  and  went  to  a  neighbor's  house.  Next  morning 
a  merchant  called  and  invited  him  to  go  home  with  him.  On  his 
arrival  he  found  a  number  of  ladies  assembled  for  the  purpose  of 
making  him  a  suit  of  clothes.  Bridle,  saddle,  clothing,  and  money 
were  all  furnished  him,  and  his  own  horse  was  brought  from  his 
father's,  and  the  young  man  went  on  his  way  preaching  the  gospel. 

The  Rev.  P.  G.  Rea,  in  his  manuscript  history  of  the  New 
Lebanon  Presb}tery  of  Missouri  (organized  1832)  gives  some  inter- 
esting facts.  He  says:  "Since  its  organization  to  1885  this  pres- 
bytery has  ordained  thirty-two  ministers,  licensed  forty-eight,  and 
has  had  under  its  care  eighty-six -candidates.  Eight  thousand  one 
hundred  and  eighty-eight  accessions,  and  over  eleven  thousand  con- 
versions have  been  reported."  Some  samples  will  show  how  the 
preachers  of  this  presbytery  were  compensated  for  their  services: 
"John  Reed  and  W.  B.  Wear,  as  missionaries  for  six  months,  each 
received  four  dollars  and  twenty-eight  cents,  and  A.  McCorkle, 
twenty-three  dollars  and  ninety-five  cents.  J.  M.  Foster,  for  six 
months,  received  thirt}^-tliree  dollars  and  twelve  cents,  and  F.  E. 
Foster  the  same  amount.  P.  G.  Rea,  for  six  months,  received  fifteen 
dollars  and  forty-three  cents,  and  W.  F.  Lawrence,  fifteen  dollars 
and  twelve  cents.  ]\I.  Neal,  for  one  month,  received  two  dollars 
and  thirty-seven  cents,  and  Moses  Allen,  for  three  months,  twelve 
dollars  and  twelve  cents." 

In  1853  this  presbyter}^  passed  resolutions  in  favor  of  "the 
Maine  law. ' '  In  Mr.  Rea's  manuscript  is  a  melancholy  notice  of  the 
last  days  of  the  Rev.  Daniel  Buie.  He  became  insane  while  presid- 
ing as  moderator  of  the  presbytery,  and  died  in  the  Fulton  asylum, 
1834.     Mr.  Rea  corrects  a  few  of  R.  C.  Ewing's  dates.  ^     Rea's  cor- 

'  Ewing's  Memoirs. 


376  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  iv. 

rections  have  been  followed  in  this  work.  Mr.  Rea  is  now  an  ao-ed 
man,  and  looks  back  npon  a  long  life  of  usefulness  as  he  lingers 
waiting  the  signal  to  call  him  home.  His  memor)',  however,  is 
unini]Daired,  and  it  is  remarkabl)-  accurate  about  dates. 

From  a  manuscript  autobiography  of  the  Rev.  James  Johnson 
(who  was  born  in  1803)  we  learn  that  after  he  began  the  ministry 
in  Ocoee  Presbytery,  Tennessee,  he  attended  a  protracted  meeting 
held  in  connection  wdth  the  meeting  of  East  Tennessee  Synod. 
The  leading  preachers  of  the  synod  all  seemed  to  fail  in  the  pulpit. 
A  Presbyterian  minister  said:  "You  will  have  no  revival  so  long 
as  you  rely  on  your  big  preachers.  Pick  out  the  least  and  hum- 
blest man  you  have  and  let  him  do  the  preaching,  and  let  your  big 
men  go  to  praying."  Johnson  naively  tells  us  that  they  selected 
him.  He  replied  that  he  would  preach  if  they  would  have  Hiram 
Douglass  follow  with  an  exhortation.  He  said:  "Let  Douglass 
follow  a  poor  sermon,  and  he  has  never  been  known  to  fail."  The 
arrangement  was  made.  Johnson  preached,  Douglass  exhorted, 
and  when  the  call  was  made  crowds  pressed  to  the  mourner's  bench. 
A  great  revival  with  scores  of  conversions  followed.  Johnson's 
humorous  estimate  of  Douglass's  talent  is  correct.  Douglass  ex- 
celled in  tact,  in  ability  to  meet  emergencies,  to  lead  forlorn  hopes, 
and  turn  defeats  into  victories. 

Ten  vears  ajro  there  lived  in  the  Choctaw  Nation  an  aged  Indian 
named  Durant.  He  was  an  elder  in  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian 
church.  He  wrote  for  Dr.  Crisman  a  sketch  of  his  life,  which  con- 
tains some  interesting  facts.  He  says  he  was  born  in  Mississippi, 
in  1798.  In  his  childhood  there  were  neither  schools  nor  books, 
neither  churches  nor  preaching  anywhere  in  his  countr)\  He 
never  heard  of  such  things  till  he  was  fifteen  years  old,  and  when 
at  last  a  missionary  school  was  established  near  his  home,  he  was 
afraid  of  it.  He  did  not  understand  what  kind  of  a  thing  it  was, 
and  the  mere  thought  of  going  to  it  frightened  him.  He  says  his 
people  wore  no  hats,  and  instead  of  shoes  wore  moccasins.  Very 
little  was  said  or  thought  about  any  Supreme  Being,  though  they 
did  believe  in  a  Great  Spirit.  Finally,  however,  he  heard  the 
gospel  in  his  own  language  and  became  a  Christian.  He  claims 
Cyrus  Kingsbury  as  his  spiritual  father. 


Chapter  XXXVI.]  SKETCHES  AND   INCIDENTS.  377 

In  West  Tennessee  there  was,  in  1845,  near  the  home  of  a  pious 
Cumberland  Presbyterian  mother  an  extensive  neighborhood  in 
which  there  was  neither  church  nor  Sunday-school.  This  was  a 
source  of  great  grief  to  this  dear  lady.  Finally  she  found  an  ear- 
nest Christian  man,  Wm.  Moore,  who  was  willing  to  join  her  in  an 
ejSbrt  to  establish  a  Sunday-school  in  the  neglected  neighborhood. 
Engaging  the  little  log  school-house,  they  published  their  appoint- 
ment for  a  Sabbath-school.  Neither  of  them  had  any  knowledge 
of  modern  methods  of  Sunday-school  work,  but  they  both  had  a 
deep  love  for  souls.  The  school  at  first  was  composed  mostly  of 
grown  people,  some  of  them  gray  headed.  Their  method  was  to 
read  a  chapter,  talk  about  it  a  little  while,  then  pray.  After  the 
first  prayer  came  personal  conversation  with  the  unconverted  about 
their  souls,  then  another  pra}-er.  It  was  not  long  before  a  most 
gracious  revival  began  in  the  log  school-house,  and  it  continued 
for  months,  until  many  of  the  married  people,  as  well  as  a  number 
of  the  young  people,  were  counted  among  the  converts.  This  in- 
cident, taken  along  with  another  now  to  be  related,  may  serv^e  to 
encourage  some  earnest  worker  in  the  Sabbath-school.  The  other 
instance  was  at  Bowling  Green,  Kentucky.  One  of  the  teachers  in 
the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  Sabbath-school  at  that  place  went  to 
her  pastor  and  said,  "  I  want  to  give  up  my  class."  He  asked  her 
why,  and  she  answered:  "  I  am  no  scholar.  I  can't  understand  all 
these  new  methods.  I  can 't  keep  up  with  all  these  learned  teachers 
or  with  my  class.  Everybody  has  got  so  far  ahead  of  me.  I  am  not 
fit  to  teach."  He  asked  her  how  many  of  her  large  class  of  boys 
were  Christians  when  she  took  charge  of  it.  She  replied,  ' '  None 
of  them."  "How  many  do  you  believe  have  been  converted  since 
you  took  charge  of  them?"  "All  but  one."  The  pastor  then 
asked  her  if  she  thought  she  had  learning  enough  to  pray  earnestly 
for  the  conversion  of  that  one.  With  tears  she  said,  "Yes,  with 
my  whole  heart."  He  then  said  to  her,  "I  would  not  give  you  for 
fifty  learned  teachers  who  never  led  a  pupil  to  Jesus. " 

The  following  incident  is  found  in  the  manuscript  of  the  Rev. 
M.  H.  Bone:  The  Missionar}^  Board  desired  to  secure  the  services 
of  the  Rev.  F.  G.  Black,  of  Ohio,  to  take  charge  of  a  new  mission 
in  the  city  of  Cincinnati;    but  the  members  of  his  congregation 


378  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [reriod  iv. 

were  not  willing  to  let  him  go,  and  lie  would  not  leave  them  with- 
out their  full  consent.  The  board  employed  Mr.  Bone  to  visit 
Black's  congregation  with  a  view  to  persuading  them  to  yield 
tlieir  interests  to  the  demands  of  the  general  cause.  He  made  the 
visit,  and  on  Sabbath  he  delivered  an  address  on  the  great  claims 
of  Christ's  kingdom,  and  showed  how  we  ought  to  yield  our  local 
interests  to  larger  general  interests.  Seeing  the  whole  congrega- 
tion in  tears,  he  thought  the  time  had  come  to  have  the  question 
decided.  Turning  to  the  elders,  he  asked  them  if  they  would 
consent  to  give  up  their  pastor.  The  elders  asked:  "What  does 
Brother  Black  say?  Does  he  want  to  go?"  Mr.  Black  replied:  "I 
believe  it  is  my  duty  to  go."  Then  Mr.  Bone  asked:  "How  many 
elders  and  members  are  there  who  are  willing  to  let  Mr.  Black  go 
where  he  feels  that  the  Lord  is  calling  him?"  To  this  the  only 
answer  was  increased  weeping  throughout  the  congregation.  Still 
the  agent  of  the  board  persevered  in  private  till  he  accomplished 
his  mission.  Mr.  Bone,  when  he  was  an  old  man,  and  long  after 
Mr.  Black  had  lost  his  wife  and  another  member  of  his  family  by 
the  cholera  in  Cincinnati,  and  after  the  Cincinnati  mission  had 
been  for  many  years  abandoned,  put  on  record,  concerning  his  visit 
to  Mr.  Black's  church  and  his  efforts  to  sever  that  holy  pastoral 
relation,  these  words,  "It  was  not  of  God." 

The  Rev.  R.  A.  A.  Moorman,  of  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian 
church,  stammers  badly;  yet,  strange  to  say,  he  has  no  impediment 
in  his  utterance  while  praying.  In  the  beginning  of  his  sermons 
this  infirmity  is  often  ver}'^  embarrassing,  but  when  he  advances 
and  becomes  absorbed  in  his  discourse,  all  traces  of  it  vanish. 
Once  at  a  large  camp-meeting  Mr.  Moorman  was  to  preach  at 
eleven  o'clock  Sunday  morning.  He  tried  hard  to  begin  his  ser- 
mon, but  his  stammering  was  worse  than  usual.  He  sang  a  stanza, 
then  tried  again  to  preach,  but  he  could  not  finish  a  single  sen- 
tence. Falling  upon  his  knees  he  poured  forth  a  touching  prayer 
for  divine  help.  He  asked  the  Lord  that  he  might  be  rid  of  all 
concern  about  himself,  and  have  grace  that  day  to  preach  the  sim- 
ple gospel.  He  confessed  before  God  and  the  people  that  his  heart 
had  been  set  on  preaching  a  great  sermon.  He  prayed  God  to  for- 
give him  and  enable  him  to  preach  a  little  sermon  that  should  lead 


Chapter  XXXVI. ]  SKETCHES   AND   INCIDENTS.  379 

souls  to  Christ.  Long  before  he  rose  from  his  knees  the  whole 
congregation  was  melted  to  tears,  while  many  earnest  Christian 
hearts  were  joining  in  the  preacher's  earnest  prayer.  When  he 
rose  at  last  and  began  his  discourse  there  was  no  more  stammering. 
The  sermon  was  soul-stirring  and  convincing,  full  of  the  power  of 
the  gospel.  One  who  heard  it  testifies  that  it  was  the  most  power- 
ful presentation  of  the  truth  he  ever  listened  to.  Scores  owe  their 
salvation,  under  God,  t-o  that  prayer  and  sermon. 


FIFTH    PERIOD. 


CHAPTER   XXXVII. 


TEN  ASSEMBLIES— iS6i  TO  1870. 

Per  mare,  •  .  per  saxa,  per  ignes — Horace. 

OP  the  ninety-seven  presbyteries  with  which  the  Cumberland 
Presbyterian  church  began  this  period,  sixty-nine  were  in 
the  slave  States.  Fifty  Southern  and  thirteen  Northern  presby- 
teries were  each  entitled  to  four  representatives  in  the  General 
Assembly.  In  a  full  Assembly  there  would  have  been  two  hun- 
dred and  thirty-eight  commissioners  from  the  Southern  States,  and 
eighty-two  from  the  Northeru.  The  Board  of  Church  Erection 
was  located  at  St.  Louis,  Missouri;  the  Boards  of  Education  and 
Publication  at  Nashville,  Tennessee;  and  the  Board  of  Missious 
and  the  Theological  School  at  Lebanon,  Tennessee — all  on  South- 
ern soil,  though  St.  Louis  was  far  more  under  Northern  than 
Southern  control.  It  was  generally  claimed  as  a  Northern  city, 
but  as  it  had  but  two  congregations  of  Cumberland  Presbyterians, 
both  of  them  feeble  and  struggling  missions,  it  was  not  a  favorable 
location  for  a  church  board. 

When  the  crushing  weight  of  the  war  rested  on  the  Southern 
States,  it  rested  on  and  paralyzed  over  two  thirds  of  our  people,  so 
that  our  General  Assemblies,  which  all  met  north  of  the  military 
Jines  during  the  whole  war,  were  greatly  weakened.  W^ien  the 
Assembly  of  1861  convened  in  St.  Louis,  Missouri,  there  were 
twenty-nine  delegates  from  Southern  presbyteries,  and  twenty-one 
from  Northern  presbyteries:  fifty  out  of  three  hundred  and  twenty. 
Sixty-one  out  of  ninety-seven  presbyteries  had  no  representative  at 
the  organization.  The  question  was  seriously  debated  whether  or 
(380) 


Chapter  XXXVII.]  Ten   ASSEMBUES.  381 

not  those  present  sliould  try  to  transact  business  for  the  church 
when  so  large  a  number  of  the  presbyteries  were  not  represented. 
It  is  well,  however,  that  they  decided  the  question  affirmatively, 
for  no  better  representation  was  secured  until  the  great  military 
struggle  was  over. 

The  church  boards  all  managed  to  have  their  reports  before  the 
Assembly  of  1861,  and  though  the  s-tate  of  the  country  had  already 
diminished  their  prosperity,  yet  they  all  showed  a  slight  gain  upon 
the  preceding  year's  work.  The  Theological  School  had  been 
suspended.  The  Missionary  Board  reported  twenty-two  thousand 
dollars  receipts,  fifty-five  hundred  dollars  of  it  being  a  legacy. 
Only  one  hundred  and  thirty-three  dollars  had  been  paid  to  agents. 
In  the  ten  Assemblies  now  under  discussion  much  time  was  occu- 
pied in-  considering  questions  growing  out  of  the  war,  but  all  that 
is  reserved  for  the  next  chapter. 

The  General  Assembly  of  1862  met  at  Owensboro,  Kentucky. 
The  selection  of  that  place  was  made  in  the  spirit  of  conservatism. 
It  is  on  the  line  between  the  two  great  sections  then  at  war  with 
each  other,  but  the  state  of  the  country  was  such  that  no  repre- 
sentatives of  the  Southern  presbyteries  were  in  attendance.  When 
the  Assembly  was  organized,  sixty-nine  presbyteries  were  unrepre- 
sented. It  is  not  difficult  to  understand  the  reason  why  the  South- 
ern presbyteries  were  not  represented.  It  was  either  wholly  impos- 
sible for  delegates  to  cross  the  military  lines,  or  altogether  too 
dangerous  to  be  undertaken.  The  chances  of  being  treated  as  a 
spy,  or  of  being  sent  to  a  military  prison,  awaited  any  man  from 
either  section  who  crossed  the  lines  without  a  pass;  and  passes  for 
such  trips  to  go  and  return  were  not  granted. 

The  boards  located  in  Tennessee  had  no  representatives  and  no 
reports  before  this  Assembly.  These  boards  were,  in  fact,  wholly 
unable  even  to  have  a  meeting.  All  such  operations  were  sus- 
pended. In  this  emergency  two  temporary  committees  were 
appointed  by  the  Assembly,  one  on  missions,  and  another  on 
publication,  to  take  charge,  for  the  time,  of  these  interests.  The 
Committee  on  Publication  was  composed  of  men  living  far  apart. 
They  were  to  act  in  co-operation  with  the  board  at  Nashville,  if 
that  was  practicable,  but  independently  of  that  board  if  they  found 


382  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.        [Period  v. 

it  necessary.  The  Committee  on  Missions  was  composed  of  men 
living  in  three  different  States.  We  are  not  surprised,  therefore, 
at  the  nature  of  the  reports  made  by  these  committees  to  the  next 
Assembly. 

When  the  General  Assembly  of  1863  met  at  Alton,  Illinois, 
sixty-nine  presbyteries  were  still  without  representatives,  and  none 
of  the  boards  located  in  the  South  sent  any  report  or  representa- 
tive. The  two  committees  appointed  to  co-operate  respectively 
with  the  Board  of  Missions  and  the  Board  of  Publication,  or  to 
supplement  their  work,  reported  nothing  done.  These  committees 
were  then  both  re-organized.  The  one  on  missions  was  located  at 
Alton,  Illinois,  and  the  one  on  publication  at  Pittsburg,  Pennsyl- 
vania. Neither  the  Board  of  Missions  at  Lebanon  nor  the  Board 
of  Publication  at  Nashville  was  disbanded,  but  these  new  boards 
were  organized  for  existing  emergencies. 

When  a  committee  appointed  by  the  General  Assembly  went  to 
Nashville  to  take  charge  of  the  books,  plates,  and  other  property 
of  the  Board  of  Publication,  with  a  view  to  removing  these  effects 
to  Pittsburg,  they  encountered  one  serious  obstacle.  There  was  a 
debt  against  the  board,  and  the  creditors  interfered  to  prevent  the 
removal  of  the  property.  The  committee  returned  without  the 
books.  They  then  raised  money  to  pay  off  the  debt,  and  when  it 
was  paid  the  books  were  safely  shipped  to  Pittsburg.  P.  G.  Rea 
and  Frederick  Lack  were  the  committee.  During  their  visit  to 
Nashville  no  unpleasant  word  passed  between  them  and  the  repre- 
sentatives of  the  Nashville  board, ' 

In  1864  the  General  Assembly  met  in  Lebanon,  Ohio.  The 
times  were  stormy,  and  the  Assembly  spent  much  of  its  session  in 
discussing  questions  connected  with  the  great  national  struggle. 

The  General  Assembly  of  1865,  which  was  held  at  Evansville, 
Indiana,  was  more  conservative  than  its  predecessor.  Owensboro, 
Kentucky,  was  nominated  by  the  Rev.  J.  W.  Woods,  a  Federal 
chaplain,  and  chosen  as  the  place  for  the  next  Assembly. 

From  1862  to  1865  the  state  of  things  in  the  Southern  portion 
of  the  church  was  distressing  beyond  all  description.  No  dele- 
gates could  reach  the  General  Assembly.     No  Cumberland  Presby- 

'  Private  letter  of  Dr.  W.  E.  Ward  to  Dr.  Beard,  written  at  the  time. 


Chapter  XXXVIL]  TeN   AsSEMBUES.  383 

terian  paper  was  published  in  the  South  after  the  fall  of  Fort  Don- 
nelson,  February,  1862.  Papers  from  the  Northern  part  of  the 
church  ver>'  rarely  reached  Southern  readers.  Even  the  proceed- 
ings of  the  General  Assemblies  were  unknown.  Synods  and  pres- 
byteries could  seldom  meet  except  at  called  sessions,  the  regular 
meetings  being  prevented  by  military  events.  The  records  of 
some  of  these  Southern  presbyteries  show  failure  after  failure  in 
their  efforts  to  hold  even  called  meetings.  The  place  appointed 
might  be  accessible  enough  when  the  call  was  made,  but  not 
accessible  when  the  time  for  meetino;  arrived. 

In  view  of  these  things  it  was  resolved  to  try  to  hold  annual 
conventions  to  be  composed  of  delegates  from  all  the  Southern 
presbyteries.  Several  unsuccessful  attempts  to  bring  such  a  con- 
vention together  to  consult  about  the  church's  interests  were  made 
prior  to  1863.  Finally  calls  for  a  convention  to  meet  in  Chatta- 
nooga, Tennessee,  were  published  in  the  secular  papers.  The 
time  set  for  this  meeting  was  August  10,  1863.  As  far  as  possible 
private  letters  were  also  sent  to  all  the  Southern  presbyteries. 
The  convention  was  to  be  composed  of  delegates  from  the  presby- 
teries, the  same  ratio  of  representation  being  adopted  as  that 
obser\''ed  in  regard  to  commissioners  to  the  General  Assembly.  In 
the  organization  of  the  convention,  however,  some  elders  and 
preachers  who  were  not  commissioned  by  any  presbytery  were 
present,  and  were  admitted  to  seats.  The  convention  was  com- 
posed of  over  sixty  members.  Its  Minutes  were  never  published; 
therefore  in  giving  a  synopsis  of  its  proceedings  reliance  is  placed 
on  private  memoranda  taken  down  at  the  time.  There  were  only 
three  important  measures  adopted.  The  first  was  the  appointment 
of  a  missionary  committee  located  in  the  army,  with  General  A.  P. 
Stewart  chairman.  The  second  was  to  resolve  to  hold  annual  con- 
ventions at  the  same  time  that  the  General  Assembly  met.  The 
third  was  the  adoption  of  a  resolution  steadfastly  to  resist  any 
movement  which  looked  toward  the  division  of  the  church. 

The  largest  Cumberland  Presbyterian  convention  of  this  period 
met  in  Selma,  Alabama,  May,  1864.'  It  had  about  one  hundred 
and  fifty  delegates.     A  most  touching  letter  from  the  Rev.  Milton 

*  My  own  memoranda,  and  papers  furnished  by  N.  Waller,  of  Selma,  Alabama. 


384  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.        [Period  v. 

Bird,  D.D.,  was  received  by  this  body.  Bird  lived  north  of  the 
military  lines,  and  his  letter  pleaded  for  the  unity  of  the  church. 
Many  present  were  moved  to  tears  while  they  listened  to  this  letter. 
The  convention  changed  the  membership  of  the  Committee  on  Mis- 
sions from  army  men  to  citizens  with  a  fixed  residence.  The  new 
committee  was  located  at  Selma.  But  those  were  times  when 
Southern  citizens  as  a  rule  were  almost  as  destitute  of  a  fixed  resi- 
dence as  were  the  soldiers,  and  in  a  short  time  it  was  proved  that  the 
members  of  the  Selma  committee  were  no  exceptions.  This  com- 
mittee, however,  did  good  work  so  long  as  it  had  power  to  meet. 

Inasmuch  as  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  papers  in  the  South 
were  all  suspended,  the  Selma  convention  resolved  to  publish  a 
religious  weekly,  and  elected  the  Rev.  L.  C.  Ransom  editor.  A 
copy  of  the  Southern  Observer  would  be  quite  a  curiosity  now. 
The  same  edition  would  be  partly  on  foolscap  paper,  partly  on 
brown  wrapping  paper,  and  partly  on  wall-paper.  The  coming  of 
the  United  States  troops  to  Selma  put  an  end  to  its  career. 

A  very  small  convention  met  in  Memphis,  Tennessee,  the  next 
year.  But  the  church  throughout  the  South  thought  the  time  for 
conventions  past,  inasmuch  as  the  way  promised  to  be  opened  for 
all  sections  to  be  represented  in  the  next  General  Assembly. 

In  1866  the  way  was  open  for  delegates  from  the  Southern  as 
well  as  the  Northern  States  to  attend  the  General  Assembly,  and 
there  was  a  ver}'  full  delegation  from  both  sections.  The  Assem- 
bly met  at  Owensboro,  Kentucky.  It  appointed  a  general  fast-day 
to  pray  for  more  preachers.  A  very  large  number  of  the  young 
ministers  of  the  church  had  been  killed  in  the  war.  This  Assem- 
bly recognized  both  the  Board  of  Missions  at  Alton  and  the  one  at 
Lebanon  as  legitimate  boards  of  the  church.  The  Committee  on 
Missions  which  had  long  been  at  work  on  the  Pacific  coast  was 
also  at  this  time  taken  under  the  care  of  the  General  Assembly. 
The  board  located  at  Lebanon  made  its  first  report  since  1861.  It 
had  held  no  meeting  during  the  war,  neither  had  it  established 
any  missions  or  collected  any  money.  It  gave  the  Assembly  its 
reasons.  Those  who  have  lived  in  a  country  overrun  by  armies 
and  blazing  with  battles  will  readily  guess  what  the  reasons  were. 
Others  could  never  understand  them. 


Chapter  XXXVII.]  Ten   ASSEMBLIES.  385 

The  next  General  Assembly,  1867,  met  in  Memphis,  Tennessee. 
There  was  a  very  full  attendance.  A  sermon  about  the  church  as 
the  body  of  Christ,  which  was  preached  at  this  Assembly  by  the 
Rev.  L.  C.  Ransom,  deserves  to  be  specially  mentioned.  The 
preacher  spoke  of  wounds  in  the  body.  He  said  every  thing 
depended  on  the  state  of  health.  The  forces  of  nature  could  soon 
overcome  wounds  in  a  healthy  body,  but  a  weak,  sickly  condition 
might  make  even  small  wounds  fatal.  The  healthy  condition  of 
the  church,  Christ's  body,  was  a  state  of  vigorous  spiritual  life, 
and  depended  on  daily  communion  with  Jesus.  Such  a  state 
would  insure  the  rapid  healing  up  of  any  wounds  which  it  was 
possible  for  the  body  to  receive.  He  said  there  were  no  wrongs 
which  could  possibly  separate  true  Christians  hopelessly,  no  wrongs 
which  such  Christians  could  not  adjust.  He  based  his  hopes  for 
preserving  our  church  unity  on  the  vigorous  spirituality  which 
Cumberland  Presbyterians  still  preserved  as  a  heritage  from  their 
fathers,  and  which,  by  the  wonderful  grace  of  God,  had  been  main- 
tained through  all  the  tr}ang  contest  which  had  deluged  our  land 
in  blood.  This  Assembly  resolved  to  discontinue  the  Committee 
on  Publication  located  at  Pittsburg,  and  to  reorganize  the  board  at 
Nashville,  and  directed  that  the  assets  should  be  transferred  from 
Pittsburg  to  Nashville.  Motions  looking  to  the  re-organization 
of  this  board  at  Nashville  had  been  made  in  a  former  Assembly, 
but  owing  to  the  impoverished  condition  of  all  the  Southern 
States  the  measu;-e  had  been  delayed. 

The  corresponding  delegate  representing  the  Cumberland  Pres- 
byterian church  in  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian 
church  (Southern),  had  on  his  own  authority  stated  in  his  speech 
to  that  body  that  he  believed  the  time  for  steps  toward  organic 
union  had  come.  That  Assembly  thereupon  (November,  1866) 
appointed  a  committee  to  meet  a  similar  committee  from  our 
church.  The  Cumberland  Presbyterian  committee  was  appointed 
by  our  Assembly  in  1867.  The  two  committees  met  in  Memphis 
the  following  August.  A  long  and  pleasant  conference  was  held. 
At  the  first  meeting  a  resolution  was  adopted  expressing  the  belief 
that  the  strengthening  and  edification  of  the  church  and  the  salva- 
tion of  sinners  would  be  greatly  promoted  by  the  union  of  the  two 
25 


386  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.        [Period  v. 

churches.  Each  of  the  two  committees,  after  consulting  sepa- 
rately, presented  a  statement  of  the  conditions  upon  which  it  was 
thought  possible  to  effect  an  organic  union.  The  Presbyterian 
committee  proposed  that  the  union  should  be  formed  "on  the 
basis  of  the  old  Standards  as  they  were  held  by  the  fathers  previ- 
ous to  the  separation."  The  committee  representing  the  Cumber- 
'land  Presbyterian  church  agreed  to  give  up  our  church  name;  to 
surrender  our  Standards  and  accept  those  of  the  Presbyterian 
church  in  the  matter  of  ministerial  education,  and  to  adopt  the 
Presbyterian  Standards,  or  such  modifications  of  them  as  might  be 
mutually  acceptable,  on  all  other  points  of  difference  in  Form  of 
Government  and  Discipline.  But  they  asked  that  the  Confession 
of  Faith  and  Catechism  of  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  church 
should  be  adopted  instead  of  the  Presbyterian  Confession  and  Cate- 
chism; or,  as  an  alternative,  they  agreed  to  adopt  the  doctrinal 
Standards  of  the  Presbyterian  church  with  the  modifications  of  the 
third,  fifth,  eighth,  and  seventeenth  chapters  of  the  Westminster 
Confession  of  Faith  indicated  on  pages  69  and  70  of  this  Histor}'. 
In  case  this  should  not  be  satisfactory,  the  Cumberland  Presbyte- 
rian committee  expressed  their  willingness  to  accept  a  new  com- 
pilation on  the  basis  of  the  Westminster  Standards  which  should 
exclude  all  phraseology  and  modes  of  expression  which  might 
plausibly  be  construed  as  favoring  the  idea  of  fatality  or  necessity. 
The  conference  closed,  and  these  propositions  were  referred  to  the 
General  Assemblies  of  the  two  churches.  The  Presbyterian  Assem- 
bly met  first  (November,  1867),  and  voted  down  the  proposed  union, 
adopting  the  following  deliverance  on  this  subject: 

The  Assembly  hereby  records  its  devout  acknowledgement  to  the 
Great  Head  of  the  church  for  the  manifest  tokens  of  his  presence  with 
the  committees  of  conference  during  their  deliberations  as  evinced  by 
the  spirit  of  Christian  candor,  forbearance,  and  love  displayed  by  both 
Darties  in  their  entire  proceedings.  The  Assembly  regards  the  object 
for  \vhich  the  committees  were  appointed  as  one  fully  worthy  of  the 
earnest  endeavors  and  continued  pra3'ers  of  God's  people  in  both 
branches  of  the  church  represented  in  the  committees.  But  at  the 
same  time  it  is  compelled,  in  view  of  the  terms  for  effecting  any  organic 
union  suggested  by  the  committee  of  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian 
church,  to  declare  that,  regarding  the  present  period  as  one  very  un- 


Chapter  XXXVII.]  TeN  ASSEMBLIES.  387 

favorable  for  making  changes  in  our  standards  of  faith  and  practice,  it 
is  more  especially  so  for  effecting  changes  so  materially  modifying  the 
system  of  doctrine  which  has  for  centuries  been  the  distinguishing 
peculiarity  and  eminent  glory  of  the  Presbyterian  churches  both  of 
Europe  and  the  United  States. 

This  was  equivalent  to  a  decision  by  the  Presbyterian  church 
that  doctrinal  differences  are  the  one  bar  to  union  with  Cumber- 
land Presbyterians. 

Delegates  appointed  by  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  General 
Assembly  for  the  sole  purpose  of  bearing  fraternal  greetings  to 
other  churches  have  several  times  abused  their  official  positions  by 
inaugurating  negotiations  looking  toward  organic  union  with  these 
churches.  This  has  been  done  at  least  four  times  since  the  war. 
The  Assembly  of  1886  adopted  a  resolution  requiring  correspond- 
ing delegates  to  refrain  from  all  such  unauthorized  officiousness. 

The  General  Assembly  of  1868  met  at  lyincoln,  Illinois.  The 
Board  of  Publication  at  Nashville  had  been  organized  by  the  elec- 
tion of  the  Rev.  A.  J.  Baird,  president,  and  the  Rev.  J.  C.  Provine, 
financial  agent.  Its  receipts  for  the  year  were  ^12,208.  The 
previous  Assembly  had  appointed  a  committee  to  revise  the  Form 
of  Government  (not  the  Confession  of  Faith),  and  the  report  of 
this  committee  occupied  a  large  part  of  this  Assembly's  time. 
This  revised  discipline  was  on  hand  for  several  years.  It  was 
referred  to  the  presbyteries  three  times,  but  their  responses  not 
being  satisfactory  in  any  case,  it  was  finally  abandoned. 

The  General  Assembly  of  1869  met  at  Murfreesboro,  Tennessee. 
Various  matters  in  the  action  of  these  Assemblies,  it  will  be  remem- 
bered, are  reserved  for  special  chapters.  Except  such  reserved 
items,  the  chief  work  of  this  Assembly  was  the  consolidation  of 
the  three  missionary  boards  into  one.  The  Ctnnberland  Presbyte- 
rian^ then  published  in  Pennsylvania,  had  been  earnestly  urging 
this  consolidation.  The  Theological  School,  the  Board  of  Publi- 
cation, and  the  Board  of  Missions  were  regardecTas  the  three  most 
important  denominational  enterprises,  and  there  was  among  the 
delegates  in  this  Assembly  a  general  feeling  in  favor  of  establishing 
one  of  these  in  the  Northern  part  of  the  church.  A  movement 
with  this  end  in  view  was  inaugurated  by  representatives  from  the 


388  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.        [Period  v. 

South,  and  at  the  suggestion  of  Northern  representatives  the  con- 
solidated Board  of  Missions  was  located  at  St.  Louis,  Missouri. 
The  wisdom  of  this  selection  needs  no  vindication.  A  point  far- 
ther north  than  St.  Louis  would  have  been  too  near  the  outer 
border  of  the  church.  Under  this  new  arrangement  it  was  under- 
stood that  the  whole  church  was  to  co-operate  with  the  Board  of 
Missions  at  St.  Louis,  and  also  with  the  Board  of  Publication  and 
the  Theological  School  located  respectively  at  Nashville  and  Leb- 
anon, Tennessee.  With  only  such  exceptions  as  all  human  affairs 
abound  in,  this  pledge  is  still  kept  in  good  faith. 

Between  the  Assembly  of  1869  and  that  of  1870  a  sharp  discus- 
sion arose  over  the  plans  of  the  Board  of  IMissions.  The  Assembly 
had  divided  the  ecclesiastical  year  into  quarters,  assigning  to  each 
of  the  four  principal  enterprises  of  the  church  one  quarter  for  its 
financial  collections.  The  aim  of  this  quarterly  system  was  to 
avoid  conflicting  calls  upon  the  congregations,  and,  by  having  all 
the  pastors  take  these  regular  quarterly  collections,  to  supersede " 
the  employment  of  agents  by  the  boards.  As  soon  as  the  consoli- 
dated Board  of  Missions  at  St.  Louis  was  organized,  it  decided  to 
adopt  a  system  of  agencies  similar  to  those  emplo}'ed  by  insurance 
companies.  There  were  two  obligations  which,  some  people 
thought,  were  violated  by  this  scheme.  The  Assembly's  plan  for 
quarterly  work  by  the  pastors  would  be  virtually  set  aside,  and  the 
pledge  of  co-operation  with  the  other  church  boards  would  be 
infringed.  If  agents  were  to  be  sent  out  to  canvass  the  churches 
all  the  year  round  as  proposed,  working  only  for  missions,  there 
would  be  conflicts,  and,  it  was  feared,  very  little  co-operation. 
Long  articles  on  both  sides  of  the  question  appeared  in  the  church 
papers. 

The  Board  of  Missions  argued  that  the  pastoral  system  of  the 
church  was  as  yet  too  imperfect  to  justify  the  abandonment  of 
agencies.  The  other  side  replied  that  all  ministers,  whether  pas- 
tors or  supplies,  were  expected  to  work  under  the  quarterly  system, 
and  would  in  time  all  fall  into  line.  When  the  Assembly  of  1870 
met  at  Warrensburg,  Missouri,  the  Board  of  Missions  proposed  as 
a  compromise  that  its  agents  should  be  intrusted  with  all  the  col- 
lections for  all  the  boards  of  the  church.     The  Assembly  referred 


Chapter  XXXVII.l  TeN   ASSEMBLIES.  389 

the  whole  matter  to  a  committee  composed  of  representatives  of  all 
the  boards.  None  of  the  other  boards  agreed  to  the  proposed  com- 
promise; but  they  submitted  another  plan  which  was  accepted  and 
approved  by  the  Assembly.  The  substance  of  this  compromise 
was  that  the  quarterly  system  should  be  suspended  for  one  year, 
and  that  the  missionary  board  and  all  the  other  boards  should  be 
allowed  to  work  on  their  own  plans.  The  friends  of  the  mission- 
ary board  felt  confident  that  one  year's  test  of  their  plan  would 
demonstrate  its  utility.  But  their  expectations  were  not  realized, 
and  the  system  of  quarterly  collections  was  subsequently  restored. 

There  was  a  long  and  able  discussion  in  the  church  papers 
between  Dr.  S.  G.  Burney  and  Dr.  Milton  Bird  on  the  proposition 
to  abolish  synods,  Dr.  Burney  taking  the  affirmative.  The  matter 
was  brought  before  the  General  Assembly,  but  the  proposition  met 
with  but  little  favor.  It  was  not  referred  to  the  presbyteries, 
though  most  of  the  presbyteries  discussed  the  question,  and  gave 
utterance  to  their  views  on  the  subject.  Much  interest  was  awak- 
ened throughout  the  whole  church  by  this  discussion,  not  only 
because  both  the  disputants  were  men  of  marked  ability  and  used 
very  abl'e  arguments,  but  also  because  the  question  really  had  two 
sides,  with  a  long  array  of  facts  favoring  each  side. 

The  church  periodicals  of  this  period  were  numerous,  but  most 
of  them  short  lived.  The  CiDuberlmid  Presbyterian^  in  Pennsyl- 
vania, was  published  all  through  the  war.  The  Banner  of  Peace 
was  suspended  from  1862  till  the  war  closed,  and  then  revived. 
With  various  changes  of  name  and  auspices,  a  weekly  paper  was 
kept  up  either  at  St.  Louis,  Missouri,  or  at  Alton,  Illinois,  through- 
out this  period.  After  the  war  The  Ladies'  Pearl  and  the  Theo- 
logical Medium^  the  former  a  monthly  and  the  latter  a  quarterly, 
were  revived,  and  Dr.  T.  C.  Blake  established  the  Snnday-school 
Ge7n.  This  was  the  first  Sunday-school  paper  ever  published  in 
the  interest  of  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  church.  This  little 
paper  has  been  the  means  of  leading  many  a  child  to  Jesus. 

The  new  presbyteries  appearing  on  the  Minutes  of  the  Assem- 
bly in  this  period  are:  Huntsville  (1866),  Leavenworth  (1867), 
Guthrie  (1868),  King,  Bethel,  and  Tulare  (1869).  The  work  of 
consolidating  the  synods  began  in  this  period,  so  that  there  were 


390  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.        [Period  v. 

fewer  synods  in  the  church  but  much  larger  ones  in  1870  than  in 
i860.  Through  such  consolidation  the  Kentucky  Synod  disap- 
peared from  the  roll  in  1865,  and  the  Ozark  Synod  in  1866.  The 
latter  was  re-organized  in  1871.  The  name  of  Union  Synod  was 
changed  to  Alabama  (1867),  and  that  of  Sacramento  to  Pacific  (1863). 


Chapter  XXXVIII.]  ThE  War  RECORD. 


39^ 


CHAPTER  XXXVIII. 


THE   WAR   RECORD. 

They  strive  alike  for  truth's  behoof, 
For  God  and  country,  right  and  roof. 

—y.  G.  HoUa7id. 

IN  this  period  several  General  Assemblies  were  held  which  were 
not  accessible  to  Southern  representatives,  and  there  were  also 
conventions  of  delegates  from  Southern  presbyteries  not  accessible 
to  Northern  men.  Then  after  the  war  closed  there  were  several 
Assemblies  in  which  the  representatives  of  the  church  from  both 
sections  met  and  deliberated  together.  The  deliverances  of  these 
several  Assemblies  and  conventions  concerning  subjects  connected 
with  the  civil  war  are  now  to  be  considered.  It  seems  most  impar- 
tial to  give  the  full  text  of  these  deliverances,  as  it  is  possible  to 
make  a  wrong  impression  by  omissions,  or  to  change  a  fair  history 
into  a  partisan  one  by  omitting  portions  of  the  record. 

Before  proceeding  to  these  deliverances  let  us  read  the  openino- 
sermon  of  the  Assembly  of  1861  as  it  v/as  reported  in  the  papers  at 
the  time.  This  sermon  was  preached  by  the  Rev.  Milton  Bird, 
D.D.,  from  Hebrews  xiii,  i:  "Let  brotherly  love  continue."  The 
speaker  introduced  the  subject  with  the  inquiry,  Who  are  brothers  ? 
and  then  proceeded  to  say: 

In  the  most  comprehensive  sense  of  the  word,  all  men  are  brethren, 
being  made  of  the  same  blood.  In  its  most  limited  signification  those 
who  are  born  of  the  same  immediate  parents  are  brethren.  In  the 
Bible  sense  of  the  term,  Christians  —  those  who  are  born  of  God, 
adopted  into  his  family,  and  made  partakers  of  his  Spirit — are  brethren. 
It  is  of  this  great  brotherhood  in  Christ  that  the  apostle  speaks  when 
he  says,  Let  brotherly  love  continue. 

I.  It  is  a  fact  that  Christians  love  one  another.  The  spirit  of  Chris- 
tianity is  a  spirit  of  love;  faith  works  by  love;  pure  Christianity  is  the 
strongest  bond  of  friendship  and  kindness.     That  religion   which  is 


392  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.        [Period  v. 

not  so  is  unworthy  of  the  name.  It  is  sounding  brass  or  a  tinkling 
cymbal,     i  John  v.  12;  iv.  7,  8,  9,  16;  and  iii.  14,  15. 

2.  The  continuance  of  brotherly  love  is  the  true  apostolic  succes- 
sion. There  is  but  this  one  sense  in  which  there  is  a  regular  line,  de- 
scent, or  succession  from  the  apostles.  All  who  are  regenerated  by  the 
Holy  Spirit  and  built  together  upon  Christ,  the  corner-stone,  are  in  the 
regular  line — no  others.  Any  other  succession  than  this  is  a  gross 
delusion.  They  who  set  themselves  up  as  the  only  church  in  virtue  of 
a  regular  line  of  popes,  or  apostolic  ordinations,  or  water  baptisms, 
deceive  themselves  and  others.  The  true  church  of  Christ  is  made  up 
of  all  regenerated  persons  of  all  ages,  nations,  and  denominations.  All 
who  have  been  born  of  the  Spirit  are  brethren;  they  are  one,  and 
should  love  one  another  as  God  has  commanded.  The  true  line  of  suc- 
cession revealed  in  the  gospel  is  the  law  of  life  in  Christ  Jesus,  which 
makes  us  free  from  the  law  of  sin  and  death.  All  in  whom  this  law 
abides  recognize  the  same  Spirit  in  each  other  by  his  outgoings  from 
their  hearts;  and  with  a  pure  heart  they  fervently  love  one  another  as 
brethren.  Judas  was  an  apostle,  and  Simon,  the  sorcerer,  was  bap- 
tized; but  outward  ceremonies  and  rites  were  not  sufficient  to  place 
them  in  thf  true  line  of  succession;  they  were  without  the  spirit  and 
law  of  life  in  Christ  Jesus;  their  hearts  were  not  right  in  the  sight  of 
God. 

Trusting  in  barren  ordinances  and  rejecting  the  vital  spirit  of  Chris- 
tianity has  perverted  and  poisoned  the  church.  Ecclesiastical  bodies 
without  the  renewing  life  of  the  Holy  Spirit  are  not  the  habitations  of 
God.  They  are  not  built  upon  the  corner-stone,  nor  cemented  together 
by  brotherly  love  in  the  unity  of  the  spirit  and  the  bonds  of  peace. 
They  conform  to  the  world,  and  are  attractive  to  the  carnally  minded 
because  such  can  live  in  their  communion  without  any  restraint  upon 
their  follies  and  lusts.  The  current  of  the  world  has  set  so  strongly 
into  the  true  and  living  church,  that  multitudes  make  profession  of 
religion  and  connect  themselves  with  the  visible  church  who  are  little 
if  any  better  than  before.  They  are  often  full  of  envy  and  strife  among 
themselves,  being  desirous  of  vainglory,  provoking  one  another,  envy- 
ing one  another;  and  they  often  have  more  bitter  prejudices  and  less 
charity  for  those  who  do  not  agree  with  them  about  some  rite  or  minor 
point  of  doctrine  than  the  people  of  the  world.  Alas,  for  such  Chris- 
tianity as  does  not  change  the  carnal  mind,  and  turn  the  heart  from 
hatred  to  love,  and  prove  itself  genuine  by  yielding  the  fruits  of  the 
Spirit — "  love,  joy,  peace,  long-suffering,  gentleness,  goodness,  faith, 
meekness,  temperance."  Such  a  religion  is  not  worth  the  name.  It 
had  been  better,  infinitely  better,  for  the  cause  of  truth  and  the  world, 
had  it  never  existed.     "They  that  are  Christ's  have  crucified  the  flesh 


Chapter  XXXVIII.]  ThE  WaR   RECORD.  393 

with  the  affections  and  lusts."     "  If  we  live  in  the  spirit,  let  us  also  walk 
in  the  spirit.'      "  Let  brotherly  love  continue." 

3.  When  is  brotherly  love  in  danger  of  being  lost? 

At  the  time  when  it  was  said  to  the  Hebrews,  "  Let  brotherly  love 
continue,"  the  Jewish  people  were  divided  and  distracted  among  them- 
selves about  matters  of  State  and  religion.  Both  the  church  and  State 
were  greatly  corrupted  and  demoralized.  So  it  is  now  in  our  nation. 
This  fact  can  not  be  disguised;  we  all  painfully  feel  it.  Most  of  our  old 
men,  great  men  and  good  men  both  in  church  and  State,  have  died. 
The  rude  blast  was  permitted  to  shake  them  like  ripe  fruit  to  their  fall. 
Our  beloved  country  is  now  convulsed  with  civil  war.  Why  and  how 
this  was  brought  about,  and  who  is  to  blame  for  it,  is  not  .for  me  to  say 
in  this  place.  Of  the  fact  I  speak,  and  a  lamentable  fact  it  is  to  every 
patriot,  to  every  Christian  heart.  In  such  times  as  these  brotherly  love 
is  in  great  danger  of  being  lost. 

Brothers  in  Christ,  though  our  country  is  divided  and  engaged  in 
fratricidal  war,  we  are  brethren  still,  we  can  not  afford  to  separate. 
Pure  religion  changes  not  Its  life  is  love,  its  atmosphere  peace.  As 
soon  could  heaven  sink  into  hell,  or  hell  rise  up  to  heaven,  as  a  change 
come  over  the  pure  principles  and  spirit  of  Christianity.  Love  can  not 
become  hatred;  it  always  endeavors  to  keep  the  unity  of  the  Spirit  in 
the  bonds  of  peace.  If  we  are  the  followers  of  the  meek  and  lowly 
Jesus,  we  are  the  subjects  of  a  kingdom  not  of  this  world.  The 
weapons  of  our  warfare  are  not  carnal,  but  spiritual;  we  wield  the 
sword  of  the  Spirit.  The  more  we  love  one  another  with  a  pure  heart- 
fervently,  the  better  we  can  fight  the  battles  of  the  Prince  of  Peace. 
If  the  spirit  of  Christ  is  in  us,  we  will  let  brotherly  love  continue.  We 
will  not  dishonor  the  white  flag  of  heaven,  nor  give  aid  to  the  black 
flag  of  hell  by  strife  and  division.  A  pure  and  honest  Christian  is  just 
and  true  still,  though  the  heavens  fall.  He  will  not  desert  the  standard, 
nor  give  aid  and  encouragement  to  the  enemy  of  God.  He  will  not 
wound  the  Captain-General  of  his  salvation  in  the  house  of  his  friends. 
Brethren,  we  are  in  the  midst  of  temptations;  and  motives  to  disobedi- 
ence, alienation,  and  division  present  themselves  on  every  hand.  Let 
us,  as  Christians,  prove  our  faith  and  love  and  verify  our  profession  by 
abiding  in  love  and  in  obedience  to  the  laws  of  God  and  man  in  humble 
imitation  of  him  who  was  obedient  unto  death. 

In  our  organic  relations  as  brethren  let  the  pure  spirit  and  principle 
of  Christianity  continue  to  connect  us  as  one  body.  Christ  is  not 
divided,  why  should  we  divide?  There  is  no  sufficient  cause.  That 
which  can  not  divide  Christ  should  not  be  permitted  to  divide  his  peo- 
ple. A  double  guard  and  a  most  rigid  scrutiny  are  required  of  every 
Christian  who  would  do  his  duty  in  times  so  perilous  as  these  upon 


394  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.        [Period  v. 

which  we  have  fallen.  We  find  alarming  developments  in  the  tone  of 
some  of  the  secular  and  so-called  religious  journals  which  profess  at 
once  to  express  and  guide  the  public  mind.  These  openly  evince  an 
utter  disregard  for  truth  and  right,  of  constitution  and  law,  and  do  their 
utmost  to  marshal  North  and  South  against  each  other  in  the  most 
bitter  malignity. 

In  these  times  of  serious  religious  apostasy  and  general  political 
corruption  on  which  we  have  fallen,  city  and  State  and  nation  are 
tainted  with  the  virus  of  loathsome  disease;  magistrates  take  bribes, 
legislators  are  more  selfish  than  patriotic,  and  rulers  are  oftentimes 
demasroeues  instead  of  statesmen.  It  is  easv  to  do  wrong  in  matters 
which  seem  insignificant,  owing  to  the  circumstances  which  have 
brought  other  things  into  greater  prominence.  It  is  very  easy,  in  a 
time  of  general  defection  and  excitement,  to  lose  sight  of  those  funda- 
mental principles  of  right  by  which  we  are  bound  to  act  at  all  times. 
It  is  very  easy  to  loosen  the  restraints  which  God's  law,  conscience,  and 
good  government  impose  for  our  welfare  and  to  keep  us  in  unity  as 
•brethren.  It  requires  genuine  faith  in  God  to  stand  firm  in  these  times 
of  general  defection  of  church  and  State.  The  pulpit  has  been  per- 
verted and  the  church  prostrated.  The  standard  of  morality  has  been 
lowered,  and  the  nation  so  demoralized  that  God  and  the  Bible  have 
been  repudiated,  passion  and  lust  have  been  enthroned.  The  nation 
has  defied  the  binding  force  of  the  law  of  the  Sabbath.  The  country 
has  been  ruled  by  the  passion  of  avarice.  God  will  humble  the  pride 
of  the  nation.  Sectional  war  has  fallen  upon  the  land  as  a  just  judg- 
ment of  the  Almighty.  It  is  a  punishment  for  the  ingratitude  and 
guilty  delusion,  folly,  and  blindness  of  the  people.  Let  the  church  and 
the  nation  humble  themselves  beneath  the  rod,  and,  in  penitential  con- 
fession and  earnest  supplication  to  God,  seek  deliverance  from  the  most 
terrible  calamity  and  threatened  destruction. 

Beloved  brethren,  we  must  not  allow  ourselves  to  be  drawn  into 
disputes  about  the  things  which  belong  to  Ciesar,  and  so  become 
divided  in  things  which  belong  to  God.  Each  must  allow  others  to 
follow  their  convictions  of  right  in  regard  to  the  unfortunate  condition 
produced  by  the  Northern  and  Southern  extremists  who  have  dismem- 
bered our  once  happy  and  prosperous  Union.  Before  this  rupture  our 
religion  was  not  geographical  or  sectional,  nor  is  it  so  since  the  rupture. 
If  a  sectional  religion  divides  us  here,  and  destroys  brotherly  love,  it 
will  exclude  us  from  heaven.  There  is  no  Northern  or  Southern  religion 
there,  but  God's  redeemed  in  heaven  come  froin  the  north  and  the 
south,  from  the  east  and  the  west.  Disputes  about  religion  should 
never  be  suffered  to  cool  our  Christian  affection.  Christians  should 
always  love  and  live  as  brethren.     Without  regard  to  name,  denomina- 


Chapter  XXXVIII.]  ThE  WaR   RECORD.  395 

tion,  or  peculiar  views,  they  should  recognize  each  other  as  members 
of  the  same  great  spiritual  family.  More  especially  should  those  who 
agree  in  doctrine  and  practice  cultivate  friendly  relations,  and  remain 
one.  The  sea  is  rocking,  the  waves  are  rolling,  great  is  the  necessity 
therefore  that  we  should  stand  firm  in  this  perilous  hour,  and  show  that 
our  church  has  enough  of  the  life  and  power  of  godliness  to  be  capable 
of  braving  the  storm  and  guiding  the  ship.  We  must  look  to  Jehovah, 
who  is  the  God  of  the  rainbow  as  of  the  deluge.  He  reigns  in  the 
storm  as  in  the  calm.  How  appropriate  and  how  full  of  comfort  the 
language  of  the  Psalmist,  as  read  in  your  hearing  in  the  introduction 
of  these  exercises,  "God  is  our  refuge  and  strength,  a  very  present  help 
in  trouble.  Therefore,  will  not  we  fear  though  the  earth  be  removed, 
and  though  the  mountains  be  carried  into  the  midst  of  the  sea,  though 
the  waters  thereof  roar  and  be  troubled,  though  the  mountains  shake 
with  the  swelling  thereof.  .  .  .  He  maketh  wars  to  cease  unto  the  end 
of  the  earth;  he  breaketh  the  bow,  and  cutteth  the  spear  in  sunder;  he 
burnetii  the  chariot  in  the  fire."  We  are  in  the  hands  of  the  Lord. 
Only  let  us  do  our  duty  and  put  our  trust  in  him  and  all  will  be  well. 
He  will  protect  his  joeople  and  save  his  church.  As  we  have  loved 
each  other  heretofore,  so  let  brotherly  love  continue  until  all  men  shall 
be  constrained  to  cry  aloud,  "Behold,  how  good  and  pleasant  it  is  for 
brethren  to  dwell  together  in  unity." 

Through  all  these  bitter  years  the  voice  of  Milton  Bird  rang 
out  on  the  same  key,  nor  did  it  ring  in  vain. 

The  Assembly  of  1861  met  at  St.  Louis.  After  a  preamble  de- 
ploring the  war,  it  put  on  record  the  following  resolutions: 

Resolved,  I.  That  we  recognize  the  good  providence  and  rich  grace 
of  Almighty  God  in  bringing  our  General  Assembly  together  in  the 
present  fearful  crisis  in  the  unity  of  the  Spirit  and  the  bond  of  peace, 
and  in  giving  us  to  experience  "  How  good  and  how  pleasant  it  is  for 
brethren  to  dwell  together  in  unity." 

2.  That  while  we  regret  the  circumstances  which  have  prevented 
the  attendance  of  commissioners  from  some  of  the  presbyteries,  we  do 
now  and  hereby  record  our  sincere  thanks  to  our  heavenly  Father  that 
brethren  have  met  from  north  and  south,  east  and  west,  and  that 
brotherly  kindness  and  love  have  continued  from  the  opening  to  the 
close  of  our  present  meeting — nothing  occurring  to  disturb  in  the  least 
the  warm  and  brotherly  spirit  of  unity  and  peace. 

3.  That,  the  grace  of  God  assisting  us,  we  will  always  endeavor  to 
cherish  the  true  principles  and  pure  spirit  of  Christianity;  that,  with 
this  enthroned  in  our  hearts,  we  can  and  will  walk  in  love  and  live  in 


396  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.        [Period  v. 

peace;  that  thus  we  may  walk  and  hve  in  the  bonds  of  unbroken 
brotherhood,  we  do  hereby  recommend  that  unceasing  prayer  be  made 
throughout  the  whole  church  for  the  guidance  and  blessing  of  Almighty 
God  through  these  times  of  great  peril  and  trouble. 

4,  That  the  General  Assembly  do  now  and  hereby  recommend  to 
every  person,  family,  and  congregation  composing  our  church  the 
observance  of  the  twenty-second  day  of  June  as  a  day  of  humiliation, 
fasting,  and  prayer  before  and  unto  that  God  who  has  said,  "Be  still, 
and  know  that  I  am  God,"  for  the  deliverance  of  his  church  out  of  her 
fiery  trials,  and  for  a  righteous  and  peaceful  solution  of  the  troubles  and 
fratricidal  war  that  now  curse  our  common  country. 

The  General  Assembly  of  1862,  held  at  Owensboro,  Kentucky, 
adopted  the  following  report: 

The  committee  submit  the  following  report:  Since  the  last  meeting 
of  this  body  the  church  has  been  passing  through  a  severe  ordeal.  No 
small  injury  to  her  spiritual  and  temporal  interests  has  resulted  from  the 
crisis  of  public  affairs,  religious  and  civil.  While  in  some  portions  of 
the  church  there  have  been  precious  revivals  of  religion,  still  there  is  an 
evident  want  of  an  earnest-hearted  Christianity.  .  .  .  Our  church  in  its 
teachings  on  the  subject  of  our  duties  to  the  civil  government  has  in  its 
doctrines  (drawn,  as  we  believe,  from  the  word  of  God)  set  up  a  pure 
and  lofty  standard  of  Christian  morality,  included  in  which  is  the  doc- 
trine that  government  is  God's  institution,  not  a  mere  human  regulation, 
and  that  obedience  in  its  constitutional  sphere  is  a  religious  as  well  as  a 
civil  obligation.  This  doctrine  is  particularly  set  forth  in  our  Confession 
of  Faith,  chapter  23,  section  4:  "It  is  the  duty  of  the  people  to  pray  for 
magistrates,  to  honor  their  persons,  to  pay  them  tribute  and  other 
duties;  to  obey  their  lawful  commands,  and  to  be  subject  to  their 
authority  for  conscience'  sake.  Infidelity  or  difference  in  religion 
does  not  make  void  the  magistrate's  just  and  legal  authority,  nor  free 
the  people  from  their  due  obedience  to  him,  from  which  ecclesiastical 
persons  are  not  exempted." 

Chapter  20,  section  4:  "And  because  the  powers  which  God  hath 
ordained  and  the  liberty  which  Christ  hath  purchased  are  not  intended 
by  God  to  destroy,  but  mutually  to  uphold  and  preserve  one  another, 
they  who  upon  pretense  of  Christian  liberty  shall  oppose  any  lawful 
power,  or  the  lawful  exercise  of  It,  whether  it  be  civil  or  ecclesiastical, 
resist  the  ordinance  of  God.  And  for  their  publishing  of  such  opin- 
ions, or  maintaining  of  such  practices  as  are  contrary  to  the  light  of 
nature  or  to  the  known  principles  of  Christianity,  whether  concerning 
faith,  worship,  or  conversation,  or  the  power  of  godliness,  or  such 
erroneous  opinions  or  practices  as  either  in  their  own  nature,  or  in  the 


Chapter  XXXVIII.]  ThE  WaR   RECORD.  397 

manner  of  publishing  or  maintaining  them,  are  destructive  to  the  ex- 
ternal peace  and  order  which  Christ  hath  established  in  the  church,  they 
may  lawfully  be  called  to  account,  and  proceeded  against  by  the  cen- 
sures of  the  church." 

Regarding  our  duties  to  civil  government,  we  refer  our  ministers 
and  people  to  the  aforementioned  article  of  our  faith  as  the  utterance 
of  the  Assembly  on  the  subject.  In  connection  with  this  we  invite 
their  attention  to,  and  strict  observance  of,  chapter  31,  section  4: 
"Synods  and  councils  are  to  handle  or  conclude  nothing  but  that  which 
is  ecclesiastical,'and  are  not  to  intermeddle  with  civil  affairs  which  conr 
cern  the  commonwealth,  unless  by  humble  petition,  in  cases  extraordi- 
nary, or  by  way  of  advice  for  satisfaction  of  conscience,  if  they  be 
thereunto  required  by  the  civil  magistrate." 

Resolved^  i.  That  m  the  teaching  of  our  Confession  of  Faith,  as 
well  as  in  our  admirable  civil  constitution,  church  and  State  are  wisely 
kept  apart,  and  the  principle  established  that  ecclesiastical  legislation  is 
not  needed  for  the  State,  nor  civil  legislation,  except  for  security  of 
person  and  property,  which  is  a  political  right,  for  the  church. 

2.  That  in  this  time  of  trial  we  approve  and  re-indoi'se  unequivocally 
the  above-mentioned  article  of  our  faith,  and  agreeably  thereto  we  at  all 
times  hold  ourselves  accountable  for  our  ecclesiastical  relations  and  con- 
duct to  the  church. 

3.  That  we  deeply  deplore  the  carnage  and  demoralizing  tendency 
of  a  war  of  brothers. 

4.  That  in  the  present  crisis  of  our  public  affairs  we  regard  the 
church  'and  the  nation  especially  called  upon  to  humble  themselves 
before  God  for  their  many  and  grievous  sins,  imploring  his  assistance 
in  bringing  the  war  to  a  speedy  conclusion  in  a  righteous  peace. 

5.  That  in  this  lime  of  confused  passion  we  will,  so  far  as  in  us  lies, 
endeavor  to  allay  and  not  exasperate  the  feelings  of  those  who  differ 
from  us,  and  we  most  earnestly  and  affectionately  advise  our  ministers 
and  members  to  cultivate  forbearance  and  conciliation;  to  avoid  parti- 
sanship and  sectionalism  in  church  and  State;  and  to  evidence  their 
loyalty  to  Caesar  by  their  loyalty  to  Christ  in  following  his  example  and 
teaching,  and  thus  continue  in  brotherly  love,  and  stand  before  the 
world  a  united  brotherhood,  walking  in  the  comfort  of  love  and  in  the 
fellowship  of  the  Spirit. 

6.  That  we  deeply  sympathize  with  those  stricken  families  in  our 
several  congregations  now  mourning  the  death  of  loved  ones  fallen  in 
the  bloody  strife,  and  we  commend  them  to  the  tender  compassion  of 
the  God  of  all  consolation  who  is  good,  a  stronghold  in  the  day  of 
trouble,  and  who  knoweth  them  that  trust  in  him.     (Nahum  i.  7-) 

Adopted  unanimously  by  the  committee. 


398  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.        [Period  v. 

This  report  was  signed  by  Milton  Bird,  Chairman^  W.  F.  Baird, 
Archibald  Johnson,  A.  B.  Brice,  H.  C.  Read,  F.  A.  Witherspoon, 
J.  B.  Green,  J.  B.  Logan,  J.  H.  Nickel!,  J.  M.  Gill,  and  I.  N.  Gary. 

The  General  Assembly  of  1863,  at  Alton,  Illinois,  adopted  the 
following: 

Your  special  committee  to  whom  was  referred  the  memorial  from 
the  Synod  of  Ohio  touching  the  morality  of  political  secession  and  the 
institution  of  American  slavery,  have  had  the  subject  assigned  them 
under  prayerful,  protracted,  and  patient  investigation,  and  in  answer  to 
the  memorial  before  us,  and,  also,  in  order  to  present  a  paper  that  will 
embody  a  deliverance  from  this  General  Assembly  touching  these  sub- 
jects, we  submit  the  following  preamble  and  resolutions: 

Whereas,  This  General  Assembly  of  the  Cumberland  Presbyte- 
rian church  in  the  United  States  of  America  can  not  conceal  from  itself 
the  lamentable  truth  that  the  very  existence  of  our  church  and  nation  is 
endangered  by  a  gigantic  rebellion  against  the  rightful  authority  of  the 
general  government  of  the  United  States,  which  rebellion  has  plunged 
the  nation  into  the  most  dreadful  civil  war;  and,  whereas,  The  church 
is  the  light  of  the  world,  and  can  not  withhold  her  testimony  upon 
great  moral  and  religious  questions,  and  upon  measures  so  deeply  affect- 
ing the  great  interests  of  Christian  civilization,  without  becoining  justly 
chargeable  with  the  sin  of  hiding  her  light  under  a  bushel;  therefore, 

Resolved^  I.  That  loyalty  and  obedience  to  the  general  government 
in  the  exercise  of  its  legitimate  authority,  are  the  imperative  Christian 
duties  of  every  citizen;  and  that  treason  and  rebellion  are  not  mere 
political  offenses  of  one  section  against  another,  but  heinous  sins  against 
God  and  his  authority. 

2.  That  the  interests  of  our  common  Christianity,  and  the  cause  of 
Christian  civilization  and  national  freedom  throughout  the  world,  impel 
us  to  hope  and  pray  God  (in  whom  is  all  our  trust)  that  this  unnatural 
rebellion  may  be  put  down,  and  the  rightful  authority  of  the  general 
government  re-established  and  maintained. 

3.  That  we  deeply  sympathize  with  our  fellow-countrymen  and 
brethren  who,  in  the  midst  of  great  temptation  and  sufferings,  have 
stood  iirm  in  their  devotion  to  God  and  their  country;  and,  also,  with 
those  who  have  been  driven,  contrary  to  their  judgment  and  wishes, 
into  the  ranks  of  the  rebellion. 

4.  That  in  this  time  of  trial  and  darkness  we  re-indorse  the  pream- 
ble and  resolution  adopted  by  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Cumber- 
land Presbyterian  church  at  Clarksville,  Tennessee,  on  the  34th  day  of 
May,  1850,  which  are  as  follows: 

"Whereas,  In  the  opinion  of  this  General  Assembly  the  preserva- 


Chapter  XXXVIII.]  ThE  WaR   RECORD.  399 

tion  of  the  union  of  these  States  is  essential  to  the  civil  and  religious 
liberty  of  the  people;  and  it  is  regarded  as  proper  and  commendable  in 
the  church,  and  more  particularly  in  the  branch  which  we  represent  (it 
having  had  its  origin  within  the  limits  of  the  United  States  of  America, 
and  that  soon  after  the  blood  of  our  revolutionary  fathers  had  ceased  to 
flow  in  that  unequal  contest  through  which  they  were  successfully  con- 
ducted by  the  strong  arm  of  Jehovah),  to  express  its  devotion  on  all 
suitable  occasions  to  the  government  of  their  choice;  therefore, 

'■'■Resolved,  That  this  General  Assembly  look  with  censure  and  dis- 
approbation upon  attempts  from  any  quarter  to  dissolve  this  Union,  and 
would  regard  the  success  of  any  such  movement  as  exceedingly  hazard- 
ous to  the  cause  of  religion,  as  well  as  civil  liberty.  And  this  General 
Assembly  would  strongly  recommend  to  all  Christians  to  make  it  a  sub- 
ject of  prayer  to  Almighty  God  to  avert  from  our  beloved  country  a 
catastrophe  so  direful  and  disastrous." 

The  General  Assembly  of  1864  met  at  Lebanon,  Ohio.  The 
momentous  events  then  transpiring  and  the  perilous  and  excited 
state  of  the  country  doubtless  had  much  influence  in  shaping  the 
deliverance  of  this  Assembly.     It  adopted  the  following: 

The  special  committee  appointed  to  consider  the  memorial  from  the 
Presbytery  of  Indiana,  and  to  which  was  referred  the  communication 
from  the  Presbytery  of  Richland,  would  respectfully  report  that  the 
questions  brought  under  consideration  in  the  memorial  and  communica- 
tion are  of  deepest  interest  to  the  church  at  the  present  time.  This  is  a 
season  of  extraordinary  events  and  unusual  i-esponsibilities.  God,  the 
Maker  of  the  world,  the  Governor  of  kingdoms  and  States,  who  will  be 
known  by  the  judgments  he  executes,  seems  now  to  be  dealing  with 
the  nations  in  his  displeasure,  and  in  dignity  and  majesty  he  is  march- 
ing through  the  land,  while  the  foundations  of  society  are  breaking  up. 
Then,  it  is  a  time  when  we  should  look  to  the  wrong  that  we  may  for- 
sake it,  and  inquire  diligently  for  the  truth  that  we  may  embrace  it  as  a 
precious  thing  that  can  not  be  disregarded  without  offending  the  Most 
High. 

The  question  intended  to  be  brought  to  the  consideration  of  your 
reverend  body  by  the  Presbytery  of  Indiana  is  contained  in  the  fourth 
resolution  of  its  memorial,  which  is  as  follows: 

^'■Resolved,  further,  That  in  this  great  crisis  of  our  church  and  nation 
we  memorialize  the  next  General  Assembly  of  the  Cumberland  Presby- 
terian church  to  set  forth  still  more  fully  and  more  clearly  than  it  did 
last  spring,  the  social  and  moral  evils  inherent  in  the  system  of  slavery 
as  it  exists  in  the  Southern  States;  and  that  it  urge  upon  our  Southern 
brethren,  in  all  Christian  faithfulness,  that  the  time  has  fully  come,  in  the 


400  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.        [Period  v. 

providence  of  God,  when  they  can,  and  therefore  should,  without  de- 
lay, abandon  a  system  which  is  a  reproach  to  our  holy  religion,  and 
which  has  so  imperiled  our  beloved  church,  our  free  government,  and 
our  national  union." 

On  this  memorial  we  propose  the  following  deliverance: 

JResolved,  I.  That  we  regard  the  holding  of  human  beings  in  invol- 
untary servitude,  as  practiced  in  some  of  the  States  of  the  American 
Union,  as  contrary  to  the  principles  of  our  holy  religion;  and  as  being 
the  fruitful  source  of  many  evils  and  vices  in  the  social  system. 

2.  That  it  be  recommended  to  Cumberland  Presbyterians,  both 
North  and  South,  to  give  countenance  and  support  to  all  constitutional 
efforts  of  our  government  to  rid  the  country  of  that  enormous  evil. 

The  business  intended  to  be  brought  before  your  reverend  body  in 
the  communication  from  the  Presbytery  of  Richland,  is  contained  in  the 
following  resolutions: 

JResolved,  i.  That  as  a  presbytery  we  do  not  desire  the  dissolution  of 
our  church  whether  our  government  be  permanently  divided  or  not. 

2.  That  as  a  Presbytery  we  wish  to  cultivate  the  same  feelings  which 
have  ever  existed  between  this  presbytery  and  the  brethren  of  the 
whole  church. 

3.  That  we  do  not  think  political  differences  a  sufficient  ground  for 
the  dissolution  of  any  church. 

4.  That  this  presbytery  instruct  her  delegates  to  the  General  Assem- 
bly, to  study  the  interests  of  the  whole  church,  leaving  out  of  view 
any  sectional  feeling  or  interest. 

In  response  to  which  your  committee  would  say  that  we  regard  the 
preservation  of  the  integrity  of  the  church  as  of  great  importance,  and 
we  hope  that  all  will  be  done  that  can  be  done  to  preserve  it  whole, 
without  conniving  at  sin  and  sacrificing  the  principles  of  truth  and  just- 
ice, but  to  these  we  must  adhere.  The  great  Master  said:  "I  came  not 
to  send  peace,  but  a  svv^ord;  for  I  come  to  set  a  man  at  variance  against 
his  father,  and  the  daughter  against  her  mother,  and  the  daughter-in-law 
against  her  mother-in-law,  and  a  man's  foes  shall  be  they  of  his  own 
household."  Not  that  such  was  the  design  of  his  coming,  but  that  such 
would  be  the  effect,  in  that  conflict  that  must  go  on  between  truth  and 
falsehood,  holiness  and  sin.  In  this  conflict  we  must  stand  by  our  IMas- 
ter,  though  it  require  us  to  sever  the  dearest  ties  of  time.  And  as  this 
General  Assembly  has  twice  declared  that  obedience  to  the  civil  magis- 
trate is  a  Christian  duty,  therefore  we  must  regard  those  who  are,  or  have 
been,  voluntarily  in  rebellion  against  the  government  of  these  United 
States,  as  not  only  guilty  of  a  crime  against  the  government,  but  also 
guilty  of  a  great  sin  against  God;  and  with  such,  without  repentance 
and  humiliation  before  God  and  the  church,  we  can  desire  no  fellow- 


Chapter  XXXVIII.]  ThE  WaR  RECORD.  4OI 

ship.  But  to  all  such  as  have  stood  true  to  God  and  the  government 
of  the  United  States,  and  prove  their  loyalty  by  their  works,  we  extend 
the  cordial  hand  of  a  brother's  greeting  and  a  brother's  welcome,  saying 
let  us  live  in  peace,  love  as  brethren,  and  toil  together  under  the  banner 
of  our  common  Master,  until  we  shall  be  called  from  labor  to  the  refresh- 
ing rewards  on  high. 

[The  committee  which  submitted  this  report  consisted  of  W.  S. 
Campbell,  Illinois;  Le  Roy  Woods,  Ohio;  J.  L.  Payne,  Tennessee;  Jas. 
Ritchey,  Indiana;  Geo.  S.Adams,  Iowa;  J.  M.  Gallagher,  Pennsylvania; 
H.  W.  Eagan,  Illinois;  J.  B.  Logan,  Illinois;  P.  G.  Rea,  Missouri.  The 
first  item  was  signed  by  all  of  these,  and  the  second  item  by  all  except 
J.  L.  Payne.] 

Against  this  action  the  following  protest  was  entered: 

We  protest  against  the  action  adopting  the  report:  i.  Because  the 
principle  of  action  is  erroneous,  and  its  spirit  secular  and  sectional.  It 
makes,  or  seeks  to  make,  an  issue  that  is  not  made  in  the  fundamental 
law  or  doctrine  of  the  church.  The  point  involved  subverts  our  ecclesi- 
astical law,  by  inaugurating  a  radical  course  of  action  tending  to  revolu- 
tionize and  destroy.  The  principles  of  the  constitution  of  the  church 
and  teachings  of  the  word  of  God,  point  out  an  open  way,  wherein  all 
must  walk,  who  avoid  revolution  and  destruction  produced  by  radi- 
calism, in  its  opposite  types;  it  is  erroneous  in  principle  and  fanatical 
in  spirit,  producing  alienation,  division,  and  ruin. 

2.  The  fundamental  law  of  our  church  organization  can  not  be 
changed,  nor  a  new  one  introduced,  either  directly  or  indirectly,  by  any 
person  in  this  Assembly;  any  action  it  may  take  overstepping  this  law 
or  tending  thereto  is  of  no  binding  force,  and  is,  in  fact,  merely  the 
opinion  of  those  voting  for  it. 

Those  who  demand  that  the  time  of  this  Assembly  shall  be  occupied 
in  the  unceasing  agitation  of  slavery,  to  the  neglect  of  its  legitimate  busi- 
ness, say  they  want  and  must  have  a  full  and  clear  expression  of  the 
whole  church.  Now  if  such  expression  was  not  given  in  1851  and  1863, 
it  is  certain  that  it  is  not  given  in  1864,  when  the  country  is  in  such  a 
state  of  excitement  as  it  never  was  before,  and  this  is  the  smallest  As- 
sembly that  ever  has  taken  action  on  the  subject.  (Here  follows  a 
comparison  of  figures  to  show  that  the  Assembly  of  1864,  which  had 
representatives  from  but  twenty-six  presbyteries  out  of  ninety-seven, 
and  had  only  fifty  delegates  present  when  the  vote  was  taken,  was  not 
able  to  give  the  "full  and  clear  expression  of  the  whole  church.") 

The  action  of  the  previous  Assemblies  was  sufficiently  plain  and  full 
to  satisfy  all  reasonable  persons,  and  as  for  others  they  will  continue  to 
clamor  for  increased  and  continued  agitation. 
26 


402  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.        [Period  v. 

3.  Intelligence,  order,  piety,  justice,  and  benevolence  do  not  consist 
with  agitation  and  violence,  or  the  result  thereof.  Indulgence  sharpens 
the  appetite  for  agitation  and  makes  it  more  craving.  In  the  incipient 
stages  of  it,  few  if  any  look  to  the  final  result.  It  is  a  chronic  nightmare, 
varied  with  periodical  spasms,  until  its  normal  state  is  convulsion,  and  it 
enters  upon  a  revolution,  the  radicalness  of  which  becomes  every  day 
more  apparent.  The  ever-restless  and  clamorous  agitation  is  destruc- 
tive in  its  tendency;  it  generates  an  atmosphere  of  alienation  and  bitter- 
ness in  which  the  genius  of  cohesion  dies  and  union  crumbles  away. 
When  the  creed  of  the  church  or  its  fundamental  law  dies,  or  sectional 
hatred  becomes  stronger  than  love  to  that  creed  and  that  law  and  their 
sacred  associations,  then  fanatical  sectional  agitation  dismembers  the 
church  and  makes  its  continued  unity  impossible,  by  having  no  common 
ground  for  a  truce  to  conflict  of  opinion;  the  spirit  of  fanaticism  not 
being  less  intolerant  than  that  of  the  Spanish  inquisition. 

4.  The  perpetual  agitation  is  aimless,  if  its  end  is  not  to  introduce 
a  condition  of  communion  such  as  is  not  made  by  our  Savior  and  his 
apostles,  and  the  framers  of  the  constitution  and  discipline  of  our  church. 
The  agitation  is  not  demanded  by  a  type  of  piety  and  benevolence  above 
that  professed  by  others,  but  by  a  strange  mania  that  is  abroad,  which 
seems  to  operate  alike  in  scoffing  infidels,  corrupt  and  babbling  politi- 
cians, and  such  professors  of  religion  as  are  led  or  driven  by  the  pressure 
of  any  peculiar  circumstances  which  may  surround  them.  They  who 
would  make  the  church  conform  to  the  outside  secular,  sectional  pres- 
sure of  the  times,  under  the  idea  that  if  they  do  not  do  so,  that  pressure 
will  crush  and  kill  the  church,  take  the  most  effectual  course  they  could 
to  destroy  the  spiritual  life,  strength,  and  moral  influence  of  the  church. 
Do  they  follow  the  example  and  believe  him  who  said,  "I  will  build  my 
church  upon  this  rock,  and  the  gates  of  hell  shall  not  prevail  against  it?" 

God  and  his  word  do  not  change.  What  is  our  duty  now  was  our 
duty  in  the  past,  and  will  be  our  duty  in  the  future.  Changing  circum- 
stances are  not  the  standard  of  duty. 

5.  The  adoption  of  the  report  arrives  at  no  finality  on  the  subject. 
The  presbyteries  have  not  had  it  before  them,  as  the  issue  is  sought  to 
be  made  here,  and  therefore  any  action  of  the  Assembly  amounts  to  noth- 
ing more  than  an  expression  of  the  private  opinion  of  those  sustaining 
it.  Present  action  will  be  no  more  a  finality  than  past  action,  if  we  may 
judge  the  future  by  the  past.  Those  voting  for  the  report  simply  ex- 
press their  opinion,  and  that  opinion  neither  becomes  the  word  of  God 
nor  the  principle  of  the  Constitution  and  Discipline  of  the  church;  it  is 
merely  agitation  for  the  sake  of  agitation,  and  the  appetite  for  it  becomes 
more  clamorous  by  indulgence,  and  it  is  not  even  satisfied  when  it  has 
produced  alienation,  division,  and  ruin. 


Chapter  XXXVIII.]  ThE   WAR   RECORD.  403 

6.  We  protest  against  the  adoption  of  the  report,  because  we  are 
opposed  to  that  wliich  in  effect  leads  to  secession  in  church  and 
State.  It  is  a  historical  fact  that  church  secession  opens  the  way  to,  and 
was  auxiliary  to,  secession  and  division  in  the  State;  that  which  carries 
forward  the  former  aids  the  latter. 

There  is  an  abolition  type  of  disloyalty  as  well  as  a  secession  type; 
the  latter  is  the  offspring  of  the  former,  and  there  is  a  sympathy  be- 
tween them,  both  operating  as  a  unit  in  effect.  If  the  end  aimed  at 
in  ecclesiastical  secession  is  to  strengthen  good  government,  then  it  is 
commendable,  but  it  is  not  attained  in  so  cheap  a  way.  They  do  great- 
ly deceive  themselves  who  think  to  establish  a  character  for  extraordi- 
nary patriotism  and  loyalty,  by  delivering  themselves  of  preambles,  and 
resolutions,  and  wind,  in  ecclesiastical  bodies.  If  they  would  take  their 
position  with  the  suffering  soldier  in  the  front  ranks  under  the  lead  of 
the  true  and  earnest  generals,  then  they  would  obtain  credit  for  patriot- 
ism and  loyalty,  by  showing  that  they  had  a  heart  to  serve  the  country 
in  its  trials.  It  is  an  old  but  true  maxim  that  "  actions  speak  louder  than 
words." 

7.  We  can  not  countenance  the  work  of  alienation  and  disorganiza- 
tion in  the  church,  because  faithand  liberty  suffer  equally  from  it.  The 
course  of  action  against  which  we  protest,  we  regard  as  unwise,  es- 
pecially in  the  present  condition  of  the  country.  There  is  no  precedent 
in  the  primitive  church  for  the  policy  of  this  action.  While  it  does 
no  good,  it  will  do  harm.  In  our  judgment,  its  advocates  are  under 
some  bewildering  influence,  and  strangely  misconceive  the  question 
which  they  undertake  to  settle,  and  the  bearing  of  their  action  upon 
it.  The  chapter  God  has  written  upon  the  heart  and  animus  of  the 
Assembly,  he  will  cause  to  be  respected,  and  each  one  of  us  must  meet 
it  for  himself  at  the  judgment  seat  of  Christ. 

This  protest  was  signed  by  Milton  Bird,  Minor  E.  Pate,  E.  Bar- 
bour, M.  T.  Reed,  J.  W.  P.  Davis,  J.  B.  Green,  W.  B.  Farr,  M.  V. 
Brokau,  S.  A.  Ramsey,  R.  A.  Reed,  Ezra  Ward,  and  Jesse  Anderson. 

Thirty-eight  votes  were  cast  in  favor  of  the  deliverance  adopted 
by  this  Assembly,  and  twelve  against  it. 

The  Assembly  of  1865,  at  Evansville,  Indiana,  made  no  new  de- 
liverance, but  passed  the  following  resolution : 

Resolved^  That  we  are  apprised  that  in  all  the  States  lately  in  re- 
bellion against  the  government  of  the  United  States,  there  will  be  dif- 
ficulties to  encounter  in  re-organizing  churches  and  presbyteries,  on  ac- 
count of  the  fact  that  many  of  our  ministers  and  members  have  been  in- 
volved in  the  rebellion;  some  perhaps  willingly,  and  many  from  force 


404  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.        [Period  v. 

of  circumstances.  Therefore  we  recommend  to  all  our  brethren  in  those 
States,  in  re-constructing  the  churches,  to  adopt  the  action  of  the  last 
General  Assembly,  touching  that  matter,  as  a  basis,  believing  that  said 
action  after  showing  true  devotion  to  civil  government,  is  according  to 
the  princif^les  of  God's  holy  word  and  our  Confession  of  Faith,  and  that 
no  further  legislation  is  necessary  on  the  subject. 

A  full  report  has  now  been  given  of  deliverances  made  by  Assem- 
blies inaccessible  to  the  Southern  presbyteries.  We  are  next  to 
look  at  the  action  of  the  Southern  Cumberland  Presbyterian  con- 
ventions. These  conventions  refused  uniformly  to  give  any  deliver- 
ance on  these  questions.  This  was  not  because  there  was  on  the 
part  of  those  composing  them  any  lack  of  earnest  conviction,  nor 
because  there  was  any  less  outside  pressure  on  them  than  on  the 
Assemblies.  The  convictions  of  rectitude,  and  the  feeling  against 
what  was  regarded  the  outrages  of ' '  the  enemy,  ' '  were,  if  possible, 
even  deeper  with  Southern  than  with  Northern  Christians.  The 
pressure  on  the  conventions  for  some  "deliverance"  condemning 
' '  the  sectional  usurpations  of  the  Northern  States, ' '  was  very  great. 
The  Oxford  Presbytery  seceded  from  the  denomination  because  the 
church  still  held  to  its  "union  with  the  enemy."  Members  in 
the  extreme  South  were  withdrawing  for  political  reasons. 

When  the  Chattanooga  convention  met  in  1863,  there  was  one 
member  who  thought  that  the  Southern  churches  would  be  com- 
pelled to  yield  to  this  outside  pressure,  and  he  moved  that  steps  be 
taken  in  that  direction.  Then  the  Rev.  W.  M.  Reed,  a  rebel  col- 
onel, rose  in  his  place  and  made .  a  most  thrilling  speech.  In  sub- 
stance, among  other  things,  he  said :  "They  taunt  us  with  treason. 
Very  well.  Let  those  whose  ecclesiastical  skirts  are  red  with  the 
blood  of  this  fratricidal  war  taunt  on.  I  would  rather  go  before  my 
final  Judge  with  our  record  than  with  theirs.  Mr.  Chairman,  at 
this  solemn  hour,  when  Jehovah  is  dealing  with  our  people,  it  is  a 
source  of  unspeakable  comfort  to  me  that  our  church  has  always 
been  conservative.  The  outside  world  demands  that  we  come  out. 
They  call  for  deliverances.  Well,  sir,  the  whole  manhood  of  our 
Southern  churches  is  giving  its  deliverances,  with  muskets  in  the 
trenches,  not  on  paper  in  church  judicatures.  Those  who  are  not 
satisfied  with  tlie  form  of  our  deliverances,  but  ask  in  addition  that 
we  put  Caesar  above  Christ,  and  rend  Christ's  body,  in  order  to 


Chapter  XXXVIIL]  ThE  WaR  RECORD.  405 

show  our  patriotism,  are  not  entitled  to  our  respect.  We  want  to 
please  God,  not  politicians.  Mr.  Chairman,  let  us  v/ait,  and  pray, 
and  hope.  I  believe  our  church  will  remain  undivided,  no  matter 
what  comes  of  this  bitter  civil  struggle. ' ' 

When  the  vote  was  taken  not  one  single  voice  was  heard  in 
favor  of  the  motion.  Even  its  mover  voted  no.  No  such  motion 
ever  again  came  up  in  this  or  any  subsequent  convention  held  by 
Southern  Cumberland  Presbyterians.  A  persistent  determination 
to  avoid  schism  was  both  expressed  and  maintained. 

We  are  now  to  consider  the  deliverances  adopted  by  the  repre- 
sentatives of  the  two  sections  in  General  Assemblies  held  after  the 
close  of  the  war.  The  first  Assembly  in  which  Northern  and  South- 
ern delegates  met  after  peace  was  established,  was  held  at  Owens- 
boro,  Kentucky,  May,  1866.  This  appointment,  by  Northern  votes, 
to  meet  on  Southern  soil,  looked  like  holding  out  the  olive  branch 
of  peace.  Still  there  were  many  fears  of  division.  There  were 
extreme  men  on  both  sides  who  wanted  partisan  action,  but  there 
were  also  many  who  were  earnestly  praying  for  the  unity  of  the 
church.  The  question  was.  What  shall  be  done  about  the  deliver- 
ances of  1864?  If  they  were  enforced,  some  said,  the  Southern 
delegates  would  not  be  entitled  to  sit  in  the  Assembly.  The  stated 
clerk,  however,  enrolled  all  the  regularly  commissioned  Southern 
delegates.     They  were  then,  of  course,  largely  in  the  majority. 

This  Assembly  of  1866  was  the  first  in  which  the  voices  of  all 
the  presbyteries  had  a  chance  to  be  mingled  into  one  expression. 
Its  deliverance,  which  was  written  by  the  Rev.  J.  C.  Provine,  D.D., 
then  editor  of  the  Banner  of  Peace^  and  offered  by  Milton  Bird, 
was  as  follows: 

Whereas,  According  to  the  plain  teaching  of  our  Confession  of 
Faith,  "  synods  and  councils  are  to  handle  and  conclude  nothing  but  that 
which  is  ecclesiastical,  and  are  not  to  interfere  with  the  affairs  of  the 
commonwealth;"  and, 

Whereas,  It  is  of  momentous  interest  to  the  church  to  recog- 
nize practically,  as  well  as  in  theory,  the  great  truth  taught  by  the 
Savior,  viz.:  That  his  kingdom  is  not  of  this  world;  therefore, 

Resolved^  i.  That  this  General  Assembly  is  opposed  to  every  move- 
ment, coming  from  any  quarter,  that  looks  to  a  union  of  church  and 
State. 


4o6  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.        [Period  v. 

2.  That  we  are  opposed  to  the  prostitution  of  the  pulpit,  the  relig- 
ious press,  or  our  ecclesiastical  courts  to  the  accomplishment  of  political 
and  sectional  purposes. 

3.  That  any  expression  of  political  sentiment  made  by  any  judica- 
tory of  our  church,  north,  south,  east,  or  west,  is  unnecessary,  and  no 
part  of  the  legitimate  business  of  an  ecclesiastical  court. 

4.  That  nothing  in  the  foregoing  shall  be  construed  into  an  expres- 
sion of  opinion  upon  slavery  and  rebellion. 

There  were  112  votes  in  favor  of  this  deliverance,  and  40 
against  it. 

The  next  fall  the  Pennsylvania  Synod  passed  the  following 
resolutions  asking  the  General  Assembly  to  explain  or  modify  this 
action: 

Whereas,  The  Cumberland  Presbyterian  church  did.  In  the  adop- 
tion of  its  form  of  government  and  discii5line  under  the  title  of  "The 
Form  of  Government  and  Discipline  of  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian 
church  in  these  United  States,  under  their  care,"  recognize  the  duty  of 
submission  to  the  general  government,  as  the  supreme  civil  power;  de- 
claring also  that  "they  who,  under  pretense  of  Christian  liberty,  shall 
oppose  any  lawful  power,  or  the  lawful  exercise  of  it,  resist  the  ordi- 
nance of  God,"  and  that  such  persons  "  may  lawfully  be  called  to  account 
and  proceeded  against  by  the  censures  of  the  church;"  and. 

Whereas,  The  General  Assembly  of  1864,  in  the  exercise  of  its  de- 
clared authority  for  "reproving,  warning,  or  bearing  testimony  against 
error  in  doctrine  or  immorality  in  practice,"  did  declare  those  volunta- 
rily engaged  in  the  late  rebellion  against  the  government  of  the  United 
States  to  be  guilty  of  great  sin,  and  the  General  Assembly  of  1865  re- 
affirmed this  deliverance  against  the  sin  of  rebellion;  and 

Whereas,  The  late  General  Assembly  which  met  at  Owensboro, 
Kentucky,  passed  certain  resolutions,  sometimes  styled  the  "  final  action," 
which  are  now  claimed  by  many  who  voted  for  them  to  be,  in  effect,  a 
repeal  of  the  deliverances  of  1864  in  regard  to  the  sin  of  rebellion;  and, 

Whereas,  These  resolutions,  from  their  own  ambiguity  as  to  their 
intended  bearing  on  the  deliverance  of  1864,  are  the  occasion  of  much 
difference  of  view  as  to  their  import,  engendering  strife  and  confusion, 
and  threatening  to  divide  the  church;  and. 

Whereas,  The  late  General  Assembly,  which  met  at  Owensboro, 
Ky.,  is  considered  by  many  of  our  people  not  to  have  been  a  constitu- 
tional Assembly,  in  that  it  admitted  to  seats,  as  is  alleged,  certain  mem- 
bers who  had  not  a  constitutional  right  to  membership  in  that  body  be- 
cause of  the  disorganized  condition  of  the  presbvteries  from  v/hich  they 


Chapter  XXXVIIL]  ThK  WaR  RECORD.  407 

came,  the  action  of  the  Assembly  of  1865  respecting  the  re-organization 
of  such  presbyteries  being,  as  it  appears,  entirely  disregarded;  therefore, 
Resolved^  i.  That  we  respectfully  memorialize  the  General  As- 
sembly, to  meet  in  1S67,  and  that  it  is  hereby  memorialized  to  investi- 
gate the  question  of  the  legality  of  the  representation  from  disorgan- 
ized presbyteries  in  the  General  Assembly  of  1866. 

2.  That  the  action  of  the  late  Assembly  is  in  effect  a  nullification  of 
the  deliverance  of  1864,  leaving  the  church  without  any  record  against 
the  sins  of  slavery  and  rebellion,  and  justly  chargeable  with  approving 
slavery  and  rebellion,  both  because  it  has  nullified  a  deliverance  against 
these  sins,  and  because  that  nullification  was  demanded  by  its  advocates 
on  the  ground  that  slavery  is  right  in  itself  and  that  the  rebellion  was 
not  wrong. 

3.  That  as  a  synod  we  hereby  solemnly  and  unequivocally  declare 
our  adherence  to  the  deliverence  of  1864  against  the  sins  of  slavery  and 
rebellion. 

4.  That  we  hereby  memorialize  the  General  Assembly  which  is  to 
meet  in  1867  to  declare  unequivocally  whether  or  not  the  deliverance  of 
1864  still  stands  as  the  declared  and  unmodified  position  of  the  church 
on  the  question  of  slavery  and  rebellion. 

5.  That  should  the  next  Assembly  refuse  to  reaffirm  the  deliverance 
of  1864,  or  to  adopt  such  an  expression  as  will  fairly  and  unequivocally 
recognize  that  deliverance,  in  its  substance,  as  the  record  of  the  church 
against  the  sins  of  slavery  and  rebellion,  that  we  will  then,  in  common 
with  others  who  adhere  to  that  deliverance,  claim  to  be  the  true  Cum- 
berland Presbyterian  church  in  the  United  States. 

This  called  forth  from  the  Assembly  of  1867,  at  Memphis,  Ten- 
nessee, the  following  deliverance: 

Whereas,  There  exists  some  doubts  about  the  bearing  of  the  last 
General  Assembly's  utterances  on  those  of  former  Assemblies  on  the 
subjects  of  slavery  and  rebellion;  therefore. 

Resolved^  That  while  the  decisions  of  the  General  Assembly  are  of 
high  authority,  they  can  not  become  a  law,  binding  upon  all  the  churches, 
so  as  to  set  up  a  test  of  church  membership,  unless  they  are  referred  to 
the  presbyteries,  and  there  approved.  Hence,  such  decisions  are  not  sub- 
jects of  repeal,  and  the  decisions  of  last  Assembly  did  not  repeal  the  de- 
cisions of  former  Assemblies  on  the  subjects  above  named,  nor  did 
they  acknowledge  their  authority,  but  simply  disclaimed  all  jurisdiction 
over  such  questions. 

There  were  only  two  dissenting  voices  to  this  resolution,  and 
they  afterward  withdrew  their  opposition.     So,  with  the  full  con- 


4o8  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.         [Period  v. 

sent  of  all  the  Southern  members,  the  deliverances  of  1864  stand  on 
the  records  as  the  opinion  of  all  those  Who  voted  for  them,  and  all 
who  chose  to  conform  to  them.  Their  moral  force,  whatever  it  may- 
be, is  not  a  subject  for  repeal.  They  are  a  part  of  the  history  of  the 
times,  and,  like  all  other  utterances,  a  part  of  the  records  which 
are  to  come  before  the  last  appellate  court,  when  the  final  Judge  as- 
sembles the  universe  to  the  last  assizes. 

But  some  in  Pennsylvania  and  elsewhere  were  still  dissatisfied, 
and  a  memorial  called  up  the  subject  in  the  Assembly  of  1868,  at 
lyincoln,  Illinois.     That  Assembly  adopted  the  following  report:   - 

Your  Committee  on  Overtures  have  had  under  serious  and  prayer- 
ful consideration  a  memorial,  signed  by  a  number  of  brethren  of  the 
ministry  and  eldership,  asking  of  "your  reverend  body  to  declare  and 
affirm  the  following  propositions  as  the  principles  taught  in  our  Confes- 
sion of  Faith,  and  the  word  of  God: 

"  I.  That  things  secular  and  civil  belong  to  the  State, 

"2.  That  things  moral  and  ecclesiastical  belong  to  the  church. 

"3.  That  in  regard  to  things  which  are  mixed,  being  partly  secular 
and  civil,  and  partly  moral  and  ecclesiastical,  the  secular  and  civil  as- 
pects belong  to  the  State,  but  the  moral  and  ecclesiastical  aspects  belong 
to  the  church. 

"4.  That  it  is  the  prerogative  of  the  church  of  Christ  to  sanction 
correct  morals,  to  express  its  views  through  the  pulpit,  the  press,  and 
the  various  judicatures,  on  all  moral  questions,  regardless  of  civil  codes 
or  political  creeds." 

While  your  committee  appreciate  fully  the  sincerity  and  earnest  de- 
sire of  your  memorialists,  we  can  not  recommend  the  adoption  of  the 
precise  language  of  said  memorial,  as  being  in  harmony  with  your  Con- 
fession of  Faith,  and  the  word  of  God.  At  least  it  is  so  liable  to  miscon- 
struction that  it  would  be  unsafe  as  the  form  of  a  rule  of  practice. 

We  respectfully  recommend  the  adoption  of  the  following  answer 
to  said  memorial: 

I.  The  Confession  of  Faith  is  a  much  clearer  statement  of  civil  juris- 
diction than  the  first  proposition  of  the  memorial.  See  chapter  23,  sec- 
tion 3.  "Civil  magistrates  may  not  assume  to  themselves  the  adminis- 
tration of  the  word  and  sacraments,  or  the  powers  of  the  keys  of  the 
kingdom  of  heaven;  or  in  the  least  interfere  in  matters  of  faith.  Yet  as 
nursing  fathers,  it  is  the  duty  of  civil  magistrates  to  protect  the  church 
of  our  common  Lord,  without  giving  the  preference  to  any  denomina- 
tion of  Christians  above  the  rest,  in  such  manner  that  all  ecclesiastical 
persons  whatever  shall  enjoy  the  full,  free,  and  unquestioned  liberty  of 


Chapter  XXXVIII.]  ThE  WAR   RECORD.  409 

discharging  every  part  of  their  sacred  functions,  without  violence  or 
danger.  And,  as  Jesus  Christ  hath  appointed  a  regular  government 
and  discipline  in  his  church,  no  law  of  any  commonwealth  should  inter- 
fere with,  let,  or  hinder  the  due  exercise  thereof  among  the  voluntary 
members  of  any  denomination  of  Christians,  according  to  their  own  pro- 
fession and  belief.  It  is  the  duty  of  civil  magistrates  to  protect  the  per- 
son and  good  name  of  all  their  people  in  such  an  eftectual  manner  as 
that  no  person  be  suffered,  either  upon  pretense  of  religion  or  of  infidel- 
ity, to  offer  any  indignity,  violence,  abuse,  or  injury  to  any  person  what- 
soever, and  to  take  order  that  all  religious  and  ecclesiastical  assemblies 
be  held  without  molestation  or  distui'bance."  See  also  accompanying 
scrijoture,  2  Chron.  xxvi.  18. 

2.  Your  committee  are  of  opinion  that  the  second  proposition  of  the 
memorial  is  not  respectful  to  the  State,  as  a  power  ordained  of  God. 
For  while  the  pulpit,  press,  and  ecclesiastic  courts  have  jurisdiction 
over  all  moral  and  ecclesiastic  questions,  there  are  many  moral  ques- 
tions over  which  the  State  has  jurisdiction  also. 

3.  Many  questions  have  arisen  and  doubtless  will  arise,  which  must 
be  divided,  the  church  considering  and  acting  upon  such  parts  of  said 
questions  as  coine  within  her  jurisdiction.  And  while  she  is  to  be 
free  and  untrammeled  in  her  teaching  and  adjudication,  she  must  be  wise 
and  prudent,  and  will  find  amjole  instructions  in  her  just  and  scriptural 
standards.  See  Confession  of  Faith,  chapter  31,  sections  2,  4.  "It  be- 
longeth  to  synods  and  councils,  ministerially,  to  determine  controver- 
sies of  faith  and  cases  of  conscience,  to  set  down  rules  and  directions  for 
the  better  ordering  of  the  worship  of  God,  and  government  of  his 
church,  to  receive  complaints  in  cases  of  mal-administration,  and  authori- 
tatively to  determine  the  same;  which  decrees  and  determinations,  if 
consonant  with  the  word  of  God,  are  to  be  received  with  reverence  and 
submission,  not  only  for  their  agreement  with  the  word,  but  also  for  the 
power  whereby  they  are  made,  as  being  an  ordinance  of  God,  appoint- 
ed thereunto  in  his  word."  "  Synods  and  councils  are  to  handle  or  con- 
clude nothing  but  that  which  is  ecclesiastical;  and  are  not  to  intermeddle 
with  civil  affairs,  which  concern  the  commonwealth;  unless  by  way  of 
humble  petition,  in  cases  extraordinary,  or  by  way  of  advice  for  satis- 
isfaction  of  conscience,  if  they  be  thereunto  required  by  the  civil  magis- 
trate." See  also  Luke  xii.  13,  14;  John  xviii.  36.  Also,  Form  of  Gov- 
ernment, chapter  7,  section  2.  "These  assemblies  ought  not  to  possess 
any  civil  jurisdiction,  nor  to  inflict  any  civil  penalties.  Their  power  is 
wholly  moral  and  spiritual,  and  that  only  ministerial  and  declarative. 
They  possess  the  right  of  requiring  obedience  to  the  laws  of  Christ,  and 
of  excluding  the  disobedient  and  disorderly  from  the  privileges  of  the 
church." 


4IO  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.        [Period  v. 

4.  Your  committee  agree  fully  with  your  memorialists  in  the  expres- 
sions of  the  fourth  proposition,  except  the  phrase,  "of  civil  codes." 
Your  committee  are  of  opinion,  tliat  while  it  is  the  prerogative  and  duty 
of  the  church  to  reprove  and  rebuke  sin,  and  approve  and  establish  all 
righteousness  and  true  holiness,  she  should  not  put  herself  in  an  attitude 
of  defiance,  or  disregard  for  the  civil  laws  of  the  land. 

This  was  the  last  action  on  the  war  issues,  and  seems  to  have 
given  universal  satisfaction. 

Before  closing  this  chapter  it  seems  proper  to  speak  briefly  of 
the  relations  of  Cumberland  Presbyterians  to  slaver}\  Though  the 
church  had  its  origin  in  a  slave  State,  and  though  its  greatest 
strength  has  always  been  in  the  South,  yet  the  author  of  this  book 
never  knew  an  extreme  pro-slavery  man  among  its  members. 
There  were  doubtless  some  before  the  war  who  believed  that  slavery 
was  justifiable;  but  most  of  these  looked  upon  it  as  a  means  of  edu- 
cating the  negro  and  preparing  him  for  ultimate  freedom,  and  all 
held  that  it  was  a  solemn  duty  to  labor  for  the  spiritual  salvation  of 
the  slaves.  Much  the  larger  number  believed  slavery  to  be  an  evil 
and  a  curse  which  had  been  at  first  thrust  upon  the  people  without 
their  consent,  and  against  their  protest,  and  then  handed  down 
from  father  to  son.  But  they  denied  their  responsibility  for  the 
deeds  of  a  past  generation.  They  believed  in  restoring  the  negro 
to  his  rights,  but  they  held  that  the  whole  case,  with  all  its  sur- 
rounding facts,  should  be  considered,  and  that  method  of  resto- 
ration selected  which  promised  the  least  mischief  and  the  largest  ad- 
vantages to  both  races.  IMany  advocated  the  gradual  colonization 
of  the  slaves  in  Liberia,  or  elsewhere.  Nearly  all  admitted  that 
there  were  under  the  existing  laws,  cases  in  which  humanity  and 
religion  both  made  it  necessary  to  hold  men  in  bondage,  and  that 
in  such  cases,  if  the  slaves  were  properly  treated,  there  was  no  sin 
involved.  But  a  majority  of  our  people.  South  as  well  as  North, 
would  have  rejoiced  to  see  all  the  negroes  peacefully  emancipated. 

Of  the  three  ministers  who  organized  the  first  presbyter}^  of  the 
Cumberland  Presbyterien  church,  Ewing  was  the  only  one  who 
owned  slaves,  and  he  emaiia'patcd  thevi. '  Besides  this  noble  act, 
he  also  boldly  wrote  and  preached  against  "the  traffic  in  human 

'  The  laws  where  he  lived  permitted  that  to  be  done. 


Chapter  XXXVIII.l  ThE  WAR  RECORD.  41I 

flesli. ' '  He  lived  all  his  days  in  the  slave  States,  and  was  the  lead- 
ing spirit  in  the  first  generation  of  Cumberland  Presbyterians.  In 
a  published  sennon  '^  he  says : 

But  where  shall  w^e  begin?  O  is  it  indeed  true  that  in  this  enlight- 
ened age,  there  are  so  many  palpable  evils  in  the  church  that  it  is  diffi- 
cult to  know  where  to  commence  enumerating  them?  The  first  evil 
which  I  will  mention  is  a  traffic  in  human  flesh  and  human  souls.  It  is 
true  that  many  professors  of  reHgion,  and  I  fear  some  of  my  Cumber- 
land brethren,  do  not  scruple  to  sell  for  life  their  fellow-beings,  some  of 
whom  are  brethren  in  the  Lord.  •  And  what  is  worse,  they  are  not 
scrupulous  to  whom  they  sell,  provided  they  can  obtain  a  better  price. 
Sometimes  husbands  and  wives,  parents  and  children  are  thus  separated, 
and  I  doubt  not  their  cries  reach  the  ears  of  the  Lord  of  Sabaoth.  .  .  . 
Others  who  constitute  a  part  of  the  visible  church  half  feed,  half  clothe, 
and  oppress  their  servants.  Indeed,  they  seem  by  their  conduct  toward 
them,  not  to  consider  them  fellow-beings.  And  it  is  to  be  feared  that 
many  of  them  are  taking  no  pains  at  all  to  give  their  servants  religious 
instruction  of  any  kind,  and  especially  are  they  making  no  efforts  to 
teach  them  or  cause  them  to  be  taught. to  read  that  Book  which  testifies 
of  Jesus,  whilst  others  permit,  perhaps  require,  their  servants  to  work, 
cook,  etc.,  while  the  white  people  are  praying  around  the  family  altar. 

The  church  papers  also  contained  many  communications  of  a 
similar  character  from  his  pen.     He  says: 

I  have  determined  not  to  hold,^  nor  to  give,  nor  to  sell,  nor  to  buy 
any  slave  for  life.  Mainly  from  the  influence  of  that  passage  of  God's 
word  which  says,  "Masters  give  unto  your  servants  that  which  is  just 
and  equal." 

McAdow  was  not  an  aggressive  man,  but  he  was  thoroughly 
opposed  to  slavery;  and,  lest  his  own  family  should  become  in- 
volved in  it,  he  moved  away  from  Tennessee  to  Illinois.  While 
always  charitable  toward  Southern  people,  he  hesitated  not  to 
speak  out  against  the  institution  which  so  long  oppressed  the 
countr}'. 

That  there  were  individual  members  of  our  church  that  may 
have  been  guilty  of  all  the  unholy  practices  which  Finis  Ewing 
here  condemns  is  not  called  in  question.  There  have  also  been 
members  of  all  churches  guilty  of  adultery  and  of  other  great  crimes, 

=  Life  and  Times  of  Ewing,  page  273.     3  lb. 


412  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.        [Period  v. 

but  that  is  a  very  different  thing  from  advocating  and  defending 
such  crimes. 

Some  Cumberland  Presbyterian  preachers  who  inherited  slaves 
were  greatly  perplexed  to  know  what  was  their  duty.  Ephraim 
McLean,  the  first  minister  that  was  ordained  in  the  church,  be- 
lieved his  negroes  incapable  of  freedom,  yet  desired  to  be  rid  of 
slave-holding.  He  laid  out  a  farm,  built  a  house,  gave  his  negroes 
stock  and  tools  and  told  them  to  go  free.  In  a  few  years,  drunk- 
enness and  idleness  brought  them  to  suffering,  and  they  came  to 
McLean,  begging  him  to  take  them  back,  which  he  did. ' 

Robert  Donnell  puts  on  record  a  prayer  and  a  vow,^  in  which 
he  asks  the  Lord  to  let  him  know  what  is  his  duty  in  regard  to  the 
negroes,  whom  he  has  inherited;  and  he  solemnly  promises,  no 
matter  what  the  sacrifice,  faithfully  to  perform  the  Lord's  bidding. 
During  his  whole  life  he  gathered  all  his  servants  at  family  prayers 
daily;  and  spent  a  season  in  instructing  them  in  spiritual  things. 
His  negroes  were  unwilling  to  be  sent  away  to  Liberia.  The  laws 
of  his  own  State  did  not  allow  emancipated  slaves  to  remain 
there.  In  just  such  straits  were  thousands  of  conscientious  men 
who  became  slave  owners  without  their  own  consent.  Some  kept 
up  the  outward  appearance  of  saintliness  by  selling  the  poor  negroes, 
perhaps  to  heartless  slave  drivers,  but  a  far  better  class  did  as  Don- 
nell did;  kept  the  negroes  and  treated  them  as  a  Christian  should. 
Donnell' s  overseer  used  regularly  to  complain  that  Donnell  stood 
between  him  and  the  negroes  under  his  charge,  and  kept  the  whole 
plantation  waiting  morning  and  evening  for  his  protracted  fam.ily 
worship. 

In  Dr.  Beard's  diary  I  find  many  antislavery  records.  He  de- 
clares it  to  be  his  opinion  that  his  negroes  (inherited)  were  inca- 
pable of  taking  care  of  themselves.  He  thinks  them  a  trust  com- 
mitted to  his  hands  for  whom  he  will  be  held  responsible  as  much  as 
for  his  own  minor  children.  July  nth,  1855,  he  makes  this  entry: 
"About  ten  o'clock  word  came  to  me  that  one  of  my  servants,  who 
is  hired  out,  was  lying  out.  This  is  one  of  the  curses  of  slavery, 
and  the  longer  I  live  the  more  deeply  I  regret  that  I  ever  became 

»  Items  furnished  by  Hon.  F.  E.  McLean. 

=  Donnell's  manuscript  to  be  filed  in  Cumberland  University. 


Chapter  XXXVIIL]  ThE   WaR   RECORD.  413 

involved  in  it.     JSIy  heart  always  hated  it,  and  now  loathes  it  more 
and  more  ever}'  day." 

There  were  many  cases  in  which  the  demands  of  humanity  and 
religion  forced  antislaver}'  men  living  South  to  become  slave 
owners.  Take  one  case.  A  Southern  preacher  of  the  Cumberland 
Presbyterian  church,  who  had  resolved  never  to  become  mixed  up 
with  the  curse,  saw  the  day  when  his  own  father's  slaves  were  levied 
on  for  his  father's  debts.  These  negroes  were  the  playmates  of  his 
childhood.  His  old  father  was  heart-broken  about  the  matter. 
While  this  preacher  had  money  enough  to  pay  for  the  negroes,  he 
did  not  have  enough  to  meet  any  thing  like  all  his  father's  debts. 
To  pay  out  what  money  he  had  on  these  debts  and  leave  the  negroes 
still  the  property  of  his  father  would  leave  them  to  fall  again  into 
the  hands  of  the  sheriff  and  the  negro  trader.  The  horror  with 
which  slaves  generally  regarded  negro  traders  passes  all  description. 
In  this  case  the  laws  of  the  State  did  not  allow  the  emancipation  of 
slaves  unless  they  could  be  taken  out  of  the  State.  These  negroes 
were  consulted,  and  declared  that  they  would  rather  die  than  be 
taken  away,  either  to  Canada  or  Liberia.  What  they  longed  for 
and  prayed  for  was  to  be  allowed  to  remain  with  their  old  master. 
So  the  preacher  bought  them  and  left  them  living  in  their  old  home 
with  his  parents,  where  they  remained  till  the  end  of  the  war,  and 
longer  too.  This  case,  which  is  no  fiction,  is  a  typical  one.  Many 
Southern  men  similarly  situated,  are  now,  with  a  quiet  conscience, 
awaiting  the  awards  of  the  last  solemn  tribunal. 

From  1830  to  1836  our  church  paper  at  Nashville  not  only  de- 
nounced slavery  and  the  rigid  legislation  of  some  of  the  Southern 
States,  but  it  was  also  fiercely  attacked  by  the  political  papers  of  the 
South  on  this  account.  The  paper  was  the  Revivalist.  Some  ex- 
tracts will  show  what  was  its  attitude  on  this  question.  lyowry, 
Smith,  and  Anderson  all  wrote  editorials  for  it. 

SHAMEFUL    LEGISLATION. 

The  legislature  of  South  Carolina,  at  its  last  session,  enacted  a  law 
imposing  a  fine  of  not  more  than  one  hundred  dollars,  and  imprison- 
ment not  more  than  six  months,  upon  any  person  who  shall  be  found 
guilty  of  teaching  a  slave  to  read  or  write!  Or  if  a  free  person  of  color 
be  convicted  of  the  like  crime,  he  must  be  whipped  not  exceeding  fifty 


414  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.        [Period  v. 

lashes,  and  fined  not  more  than  fifty  dollars!  It  further  provides,  that 
any  person  employing  a  man  of  color  as  a  salesman  or  clerk,  shall  be 
subject  to  a  fine  of  one  hundred  dollars  and  six  months'  imprisonment! 
Such  enactments  are  foul  blots  upon  the  records  of  a  free  people,  which 
our  posterity  will  blush  to  behold.  They  are  not  only  unjust  and  cruel 
but  actually  impolitic — such  laws  do  not  even  deserve  the  name  of  time- 
serving policy.  We  are  aware  that  the  notion  prevails  to  some  extent 
that  it  diminishes  the  value  of  a  slave  to  teach  him  to  read;  and  some  are 
so  credulous  as  to  believe  that  religious  instruction,  yea,  the  possession  of 
the  spirit  of  Christ,  will  injure  slaves.  Those  who  entertain  the  latter  sen- 
timent, it  will  be  granted,  are  themselves  ignorant — grossly  ignorant — 
of  the  nature  and  tendency  of  the  religion  of  Christ,  and  we  must  think 
that  those  who  oppose  teaching  servants  to  read  the  Bible  and  other  re- 
ligious books,  are  equally  ignorant  of  the  influence  of  such  instruction 
upon  their  minds.  The  extensive  slave-holder  is  at  too  great  a  remove 
from  the  slave  to  learn  the  workings  of  his  mind  and  the  feelings  of  his 
heart.  There  is  no  contact  of  feeling,  no  interchange  of  sympathies 
between  most  Southern  planters  and  their  servants.  They  govern,  con- 
trol, and  direct  their  labors  by  proxy,  and  too  many  masters  are  depend- 
ent upon  the  representations  of  heartless  overseers  for  a  knowledge 
of  the  character  and  disposition  of  their  own  slaves.  Southern  planters 
who  govern  by  proxy,  are,  thej^efore,  unprepared  to  do  justice  to  the 
African  character.  Men  who  have,  through  life,  been  in  more  imme- 
diate contact  with  the  slave,  are  better  qualified  to  render  an  impartial 
Judgment.  And,  notwithstanding  all  that  has  been  or  may  be  said  or  en- 
acted to  the  contrary,  from  long  acquaintance  with  educated  and  uned- 
ucated slaves,  from  experience  in  imparting  instruction,  from  extensive 
observation,  fi-om  all  the  facts  we  have  been  enabled  to  collect,  we  are 
fully  persuaded  that  ability  to  read,  and  especially  a  disposition  therewith 
to  read  the  ScrijDtures,  so  far  from  diminishing,  adds  to  the  value  of  a 
slave. 

This  position  is  tenable  from  principles  of  sound  reason.  Any  gen- 
tleman wishing  to  purchase  a  slave  with  the  design  of  retaining  him  as 
a  servant,  would  give  ten  per  cent,  more  for  one  of  good  moral  charac- 
terj  in  whose  integrity  he  could  confide,  than  he  would  for  another 
possessing  equal  bodily  po\vers  and  dexterity,  yet  destitute  of  moral 
character.  Well,  what  is  so  well  calculated  to  improve  and  mature  the 
morals  as  ability  and  disposition  to  read  the  volume  of  inspiration,  and 
other  religious  books?  It  would  be  most  impious  infidelity  to  deny  the 
adaptedness  of  divine  truth  to  induce  and  confirm  moral  habits.  In  fact 
it  is  the  only  antidote  to  corruption,  the  only  conservator  of  personal  or 
public  morals;  and  as  slaves  are  most  exposed  at  least  to  certain  descrip- 
tions of  vice,  they  most  need  its  restraining  and  conservative  influence. 


Chapter  XXXVIII.]  ThE  War  RECORD.  415 

Teach  your  slaves  to  read,  and  give  them  moral  and  religious  in- 
struction, and  they  will  not  only  be  better  men  but  better  servants.  We 
speak  what  we  know,  and  have  seen  demonstrated  by  actual  experi- 
ment, and  in  the  assertion  we  are  sustained  by  reason  and  revelation. 
To  assume  the  opposite  is  a  departure  from  reason,  and  an  approach  to 
infidelity.  If  indeed  slavery  is  incompatible  with  the  ability  and  privi- 
lege of  reading  the  Scriptures  and  receiving  religious  instruction,  then  it 
is  as  heinous  in  the  sight  of  Heaven  as  idolatry  or  priestcraft.  No  cir- 
cumstances whatever  can  justify  the  master  in  withholding  from  his 
servants  a  knowledge  of  the  Scriptures;  wherein  alone  life  and  immortal- 
ity are  brought  to  light.  Doubtless,  it  was  for  this  very  purpose  that 
God,  in  the  depth  of  his  councils,  suffered  the  poor  African  to  be  brought 
into  bondage,  intending  by  the  subjection  of  his  person  to  bring  him 
under  the  influence  of  the  gospel,  and  thereby  free  his  immortality  from 
the  dark  cloisters  of  gross  superstition,  and  if  so,  woe  to  that  man  or 
legislature  that  denies  the  African  the  light  and  hope  of  the  gospel.  If 
you  would  not  provoke  the  God  of  heaven  to  entail  upon  us  worse  than 
Egyptian  plagues,  and  lead  out  the  oppressed  by  the  hand  of  a  second 
Moses,  don't  withhold  from  the  African  religious  instruction. 

Later  the  same  paper  contained  the  following: 

THE  GOSPEL  CAN    NOT  INJURE    SLAVES. 

Some  time  since,  we  published,  without  note  or  comment,  a  com- 
munication from  a  "Mississippi  Planter,"  calling  for  a  reputable  evan- 
gelical preacher,  of  any  denomination,  to  be  sent  to  that  State,  to  itiner- 
ate and  preach  the  gospel  to  the  slave  population.  The  planter  pledged 
himself  for  fifty  dollars,  and  gave  some  assurance  that  five  hundred 
could  be  raised  for  the  support  of  such  a  missionary.  We  find  the  said 
communication  in  a  recent  number  of  the  Western  Weekly  Review^  pre- 
ceded by  the  following  editorial: 

SLAVERY MOVEMENTS  AT  HOME. 

"We  quote  the  following  article  from  the  Nashville  Revivalist  for 
the  purpose  of  laising  a  warning  voice  against  the  proposed  measure. 
Far  be  it  from  us  to  say  aught  against  the  diffusing  of  light  and  intelli- 
gence, or  against  ameliorating  the  condition  of  any  of  our  species,  but 
let  it  be  remembered  that  there  is  a  time  and  place  for  all  things;  and 
circumstances  to  be  considered  in  all  cases.  The  "Mississippi  planters" 
have  no  desire  to  see  the  terrible  tragedies  of  St.  Domingo  and  South- 
ampton re-enacted  amongst  themselves;  and  to  such  a  result  the  mission 
proposed  below  must  inevitably  lead.     We  speak  what  we  know." 

We  think  that,  for  once,  the  editor  of  the  Review  has  gone  a  little 
too  far  and  spoken  more  than  he  "  knows."     How  does  he  "  know  "  that 


4i6  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.        [Period  v. 

the  "proposed  mission"  would  "inevitably  lead"  to  such  results  in 
Mississippi  as  the  "terrible  tragedies  of  St.  Domingo  and  Southamp- 
ton?" Does  he  "know"  that  the  gospel  of  peace  will  produce  strife, 
excite  discontent  and  rebellion?  Will  that  gospel  which  teaches  serv- 
ants to  obey  their  masters,  prompt  them  to  rebellion?  Were  the  terri- 
ble tragedies  of  St.  Domingo  and  Southampton  the  results  of  the  gos- 
pel? Does  not  universal  experience  prove  that  when  a  slave  becomes 
truly  pious,  he  is  ever  afterward  a  more  obedient  servant  than  he  was 
before.  Does  not  the  editor  of  the  Review  know  that  missions  among 
the  slave  population  in  South  Carolina  and  Georgia  have  been  and  are 
now  being  attended  by  the  best  of  consequences?  That  the  slave-hold- 
ers in  those  States  testify  to  their  good  effects  upon  the  slaves,  and 
that  such  missions  have  received  their  decided  approbation?  ]Many 
Southern  j^lanters  have  erected  meeting-houses  for  their  slaves,  and  so- 
licit preaching  every  Sabbath,  or  as  often  as  they  can  procure  the  serv- 
ices of  the  missionaries.  The  editor  does  not  "  know  "  that  preaching 
the  gospel  to  the  slaves  in  ISIississippi  will  lead  to  such  results  as  the 
tragedies  of  St.  Domingo  and  Southampton.  We  believe  he  is  sincere, 
but  think  his  fears  have  outrun  his  knowledge,  and  therefore  he  has 
been  induced  to  lift  up  his  "warning  voice."  We  appi^ehend  no  such 
bloody  results,  but  believe  that  the  gospel  is  the  best  and  only  sure  pre- 
ventive of  rebellion;  and  in  our  estimation  the  Mississippi  planters  would 
promote  their  own  interests  and  security  by  employing  all  judicious 
means  to  evangelize  the  slave  population. 

The  Cumberland  Presbyterian^  of  Nashville,  Tennessee,  August 
19,  1835,  says:  "We  proclaim  it  abroad  we  do  not  own  slaves. 
We  never  shall.  We  long  to  see  the  black  man  free  and  happy, 
and  thousands  of  Christians  who  now  hold  them  in  bondage  enter- 
tain the  same  sentiments."  The  same  editor  constantly  advocated 
gradual  emancipation,  and  urged  on  masters  the  duty  of  prepar- 
ing their  servants  for  freedom. 

It  is  proper,  however,  to  state  that  all  these  things  under\vent 
great  changes  after  slavery  entered  into  the  bitter  political  strug- 
gles of  the  country'.  Just  what  the  feelings  or  views  of  Cumber- 
land Presbyterians  were  during  the  years  just  preceding  the  war,  or 
what  their  relations  were  to  the  bitter  political  questions  of  the 
times,  this  history  does  not  undertake  to  discuss.  Two  of  the  Gen- 
eral Assemblies  held  during  the  period  named,  one  at  INIemphis, 
Tennessee,  in  1848,  and  the  other  at  Pittsburg,  Pennsylvania,  in 
1851,  adopted  reports  directly  relating  to  slavery,  and  these  two 


Chapter  XXXVIIL]  ThE  WaR   RECORD.  417 

deliverances  perhaps  indicate  what  was  at  that  time  the  prevailing 
sentiment  of  our  people. 

The  action  of  1848  was  called  out  by  the  minutes  of  the  Penn- 
sylvania Synod.  That  Synod,  at  its  meeting  in  1847,  ^^^  rescinded 
"a  resolution  passed  at  the  preceding  session  declaring  the  relation 
existing  between  the  synod  and  American  slavery  to  be  such  as 
required  her  to  take  no  action  thereon, ' '  and  had  proceeded  to  take 
action  in  these  words. 

Jiesolved,  That  the  system  of  slavery  in  the  United  States  is  contrary 
to  the  principles  of  the  gospel,  hinders  the  progress  thereof,  and  ought 
to  be  abolished. 

The  synodical  minutes  containing  the  resolution  came  up  in  the 
Assembly  of  1848  for  review,  and  were  referred  to  a  committee, 
consisting  of  the  Rev.  Hiram  A.  Hunter,  of  Kentucky,  the  Rev.  A. 
H.  Goodpasture,  of  Illinois,  and  Ruling  Elder  J.  S.  McLean,  of 
Tennessee.  This  committee's  report,  which  was  concurred  in  by 
the  Assembly,  expressed  regret  at  the  synod's  action,  and  disap- 
probation of  "any  attempt  by  judicatures  of  the  church  to  agitate 
the  exciting  subject  of  slavery,"  closing  with  these  words  :  "The 
tendency  of  such  resolutions,  if  persisted  in,  we  believe  is  to  gender 
strife,  produce  distraction  in  the  church,  and  thereby  hinder  the 
progress  of  the  gospel. ' 

In  the  General  Assembly  of  185 1  "the  moderator  announced  the 
reception  of  six  memorials  from  persons  residing  in  Ohio  and  Penn- 
sylvania, numbering,  in  the  aggregate,  about  one  hundred  and  fifty, 
upon  the  subject  of  slavery."^  The  Committee  on  Overtures,  to 
which  these  memorials  were  referred,  submitted  the  following 
report :  3 

The  church  of  God  is  a  spiritual  body,  whose  jurisdiction  extends 
only  to  matters  of  faith  and  morals.  She  has  no  power  to  legislate  upon 
subjects  on  which  Christ  and  his  apostles  did  not  legislate,  nor  to  estab- 
lish terms  of  union,  where  they  have  given  no  express  warrant.  Your 
committee,  therefore,  believe  that  this  question  on  which  you  are  asked 
by  the  memorialists  to  take  action,  is  one  which  belongs  rather  to  civil 
than  ecclesiastical  legislation  ;  and  we  are  fully  persuaded  that  legisla- 
tion on  that  subject  in  any  of  the  judicatories  of  the  church,  instead  of 

*  Assembly's  Minutes,  1848,  pp.  12,  13,        *Ib.  1851,  p.  16.        3  lb.  pp.  56,  57. 


4i8  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.        [Period  v. 

mitigating  the  evils  connected  with  slavery,  "will  only  have  a  tendency 
to  alienate  feeling  between  brethren;  to  engender  strifes  and  animosi- 
ties in  your  churches;  and  tend,  ultimately  to  a  separation  between  breth- 
ren who  hold  a  common  faith,  an  event  leading  to  the  most  disastrous 
results,  and  one  which  we  believe  ought  to  be  deprecated  by  every  true 
patriot  and  Christian. 

But  your  committee  believe  that  members  of  the  church  holding 
slaves  should  regard  them  as  rational  and  accountable  beings,  and  treat 
them  as  such,  affording  them  as  far  as  possible  the  means  of  grace. 
Finally,  your  committee  would  recommend  the  adoption  of  the  following 
resolutions: 

Resolved,  I.  That  inasmuch  as  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  church 
was  originally  organized  and  has  ever  since  existed  and  prospered 
under  the  conceded  principle  that  slavery  was  not  and  should  not  be 
regarded  as  a  bar  to  communion  ;  we,  therefore,  believe  that  it  should 
not  now  be  so  regarded. 

2.  That,  having  entire  confidence  in  the  honesty  and  sincerity  of  the 
memorialists,  and  cherishing  the  tenderest  regard  for  their  feelings  and 
opinions,  it  is  the  conviction  of  this  General  Assembly  that  the  agitation 
of  this  question,  which  has  already  torn  in  sunder  other  branches  of  the 
church,  can  be  productive  of  no  real  benefit  to  master  or  slave.  We 
would,  therefore,  in  the  fear  of  God,  and  with  the  utmost  solicitude  for 
the  peace  and  welfare  of  the  churches  under  our  care,  advise  a  spirit 
of  mutual  forbearance  and  brotherly  love;  and,  instead  of  censure  and 
proscription,  that  we  endeavor  to  cultivate  a  fraternal  feeling  one  toward 
another. 

The  members  of  the  committee,  all  of  whom  signed  the  report, 
were:  the  Rev.  Le Roy  Woods,  of  Indiana;  the  Rev.  A.  J.  Baird, 
of  Kentucky;  the  Rev.  J.  J.  Meek,  of  Mississippi;  the  Rev.  N.  P. 
Modrall,  of  Tennessee;  the  Rev.  J.  H.  Coulter,  of  Ohio;  the  Rev. 
S.  E.  Hudson,  of  Pennsylvania;  and  Ruling  Elder  J.  C.  Henson, 
of  Indiana. 

As  to  the  present  attitude  of  our  people  in  regard  to  the  now 
old  and  thrice-dead  slavery  issue,  the  writer  does  not  know  a  Cum- 
berland Presbyterian  of  any  section  who  is  not  heartily  glad  that 
the  negro  is  free. 

The  fact  that  the  church  did  not  divide,  even  in  those  bitter 
times,  when  all  the  other  Protestant  churches  of  America  were  rent 
asunder,  speaks  with  great  power  in  favor  of  the  Christian  and  con- 
servative  spirit   of   our   people.     The   Cumberland  Presbyterian 


Chapter  XXXVIII.]  ThE  War  RECORD.  419 

cliurcli  is  now,  was  during  the  war,  and  we  trust  will  always  be, 
national,  not  sectional;  and  it  has  to-day  no  members  who  look  with 
more  pride  on  our  ecclesiastical  unity  than  do  those  who  fought 
under  Lee  and  Bragg  in  1863. 

In  one  view  of  the  case  the  church  is  specially  indebted  to  its 
Southern  membership  for  this  unity.  Most  of  the  strength  of  the 
church  was  in  the  South,  and  neither  in  members  nor  church  prop- 
erty would  Southern  Cumberland  Presbyterians  have  been  very 
great  losers  by  setting  up  an  independent  establishment  as  the 
Southern  Presbyterians  did ;  but  there  were  other  things  which  they 
prized  far  more  than  members  or  property.  One  thing  more  is 
claimed  to  their  special  credit.  When  they  were  in  the  majority  in 
the  Assembly,  and  able  to  carry  things  their  own  way,  they  unani- 
mously granted  terms  to  our  Northern  membership,  such  as  the 
Southern  wing  of  the  Presbyterian  church  has  steadfastly  refused  to 
accept  from  Northern  Presbyterians.  At  no  time  in  the  last  fifteen 
years  would  the  Presbyterian  church  have  continued  to  be  rent  asun- 
der, had  the  Southern  wing  thereof  declared  its  willingness  to 
accept  a  similar  compromise. 


420  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.        [Period  v. 


CHAPTER   XXXIX. 


PREACHING    TO    SOLDIERS. 

"Like  Him,  through  scenes  of  deep  distress, 
Who  hore  the  world's  sad  weight, 
We,  in  their  crowded  loneliness, 
Would  seek  the  desolate." 

THIS  book  has  little  to  do  with  military  records,  but  the 
history  of  the  work  of  Cumberland  Presbyterians  for  the 
salvation  of  souls,  whether  in  Northern  or  Southern  armies, 
ought  to  be  interesting  to  us  all.  The  man  whose  soul  is  too 
narrow  to  believe  in  a  conversion  because  it  was  in  the  army  which 
he  called  "the  enemy,"  would  do  well  to  pass  over  this  chapter. 
God  loved  the  souls  of  men,  whether  they  wore  blue  coats  or  gray, 
and  who  can  doubt  that  there  were  earnest  Christian  men  in  both 
armies  who  fell  in  battle  and  winged  their  flight  to  heaven 
together?  The  heroism  of  Americans  from  both  sections  has 
become  part  of  our  common  national  heritage  of  glory. 

The  principal  strength  of  our  church  lay  in  the  South,  and  almost 
all  the  men  in  that  section  went  to  the  army.  Nearly  all  the  youthful 
ministers  from  one  section,  and  only  a  few  comparatively  from  the 
other,  marched  with  the  soldiers  during  the  four  years  of  civil 
strife.  There  was,  therefore,  a  much  larger  number  of  Cumberland 
Presbyterian  chaplains  in  the  Southern  than  in  the  Northern  army. 
Of  the  services  of  the  latter,  only  a  meager  account  can  now  be 
obtained.  It  will,  therefore,  require  more  space  to  sketch  the  work 
of  Southern  than  that  of  Northern  chaplains.  The  limits  of  this 
volume  do  not  permit  the  description  of  all  the  worthy  actors,  or 
important  events.  Only  selections,  and  not  a  full  history,  can  be 
given. 

In  one  single  Southern  army — Bragg' s — there  were  twenty  Cum- 
berland Presbyterian  chaplains.     All  the  other  Southern  armies 


Chapter  XXXIX.]  PREACHING  TO   SOLDIERS.  42 1 

also  had  a  considerable  number.  So  far  as  the  personal  histor>'  of 
these  men  is  known,  they  were  every  one  faithful  in  the  perilous 
duties  which  they  had  undertaken.  Much  of  the  material  which 
has  been  collected  for  a  history  of  their  work  can  not  be  used  in 
this  short  chapter. 

No  army  missionaries  were  sent  out  by  our  church  Boards  of 
Missions.  There  might  have  been  embarrassing  questions  attend- 
ing any  such  an  effort  at  that  time.  There  was,  however,  a  mis- 
sionary committee  in  the  South,  organized  after  the  war  began,  for 
the  special  purpose  of  prosecuting  missionary  work  among  the 
Southern  soldiers.  In  the  North  the  Christian  Commission  super- 
seded the  necessity  for  any  special  denominational  organization  for 
this  kind  of  missionary  effort.  In  both  sections  there  was  earnest 
work  done  by  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  church  for  the  evan- 
gelization of  the  soldiers. 

The  call  to  preach  to  a  regiment  was  sometimes  made  by  the 
colonel,  and  sometimes  by  the  united  voice  of  the  men  composing 
the  regiment.  There  were  two  ver}'  different  methods  pursued  in 
taking  converts  into  the  church.  The  Northern  chaplains  and  the 
chaplains  in  Lee's  army  had  what  they  called  an  "Army  Church." 
All  except  Catholics  and  Episcopalians  co-operated  in  this  organ- 
ization. Converts  became  members  in  this  undenominational 
church.  ' '  The  Army  of  Tennessee ' '  had  a  different  arrangement. 
If  there  were  under  the  charge  of  a  Cumberland  Presbyterian  chap- 
lain converts  who  wanted  to  join  the  Baptists,  he  sent  for  a  Baptist 
chaplain  to  come  and  baptize  them.  Their  names,  with  a  certifi- 
cate of  the  facts,  were  then  sent  to  the  home  congregation.  So  of 
the  adherents  of  all  other  churches,  except  Roman  Catholics  and 
Episcopalians.  These  generally  refused  to  co-operate  with  the 
other  chaplains. 

The  programme  for  work  among  the  soldiers  had  to  be  shaped 
to  meet  the  nature  of  the  case.  If  a  chaplain  was  a  true  man,  he 
was  to  all  intents  the  pastor  of  his  regiment.  All  the  spiritual 
oversight  and  care  of  persons  which  any  pastor  ever  had  at  home, 
fell  to  his  lot.  He  visited  the  messes.  He  held  prayer-meetings 
for  the  regiment.  He  held  private  conferences  with  individuals 
about  their  spiritual  interests.     He  distributed  tracts  and  books. 


422  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.        [Period  v. 

He  preached  at  regular  times.  But  there  were  other  spheres  of  duty 
peculiar  to  his  station.  During  a  battle  his  usual  place  was  at  the 
field  hospital,  or  along  with  the  litter  corps,  who  carried  the 
wounded  back  to  the  field  hospital.  To  take  down  from  the  lips 
of  the  dying  their  last  message  to  loved  ones  was  a  large  part  of 
his  work  in  the  midst  of  a  battle.  To  point  suffering  and  dying 
comrades  to  the  Friend  who  was  wounded  for  our  transgressions 
was  a  still  larger  part  of  his  work  on  those  fields  of  blood.  Then 
the  chaplains  had  another  and  broader  field  of  operations.  There 
were  chaplains'  associations,  where  all  consulted  together  about  the 
general  interests  of  the  work.  These  associations  had  regular 
oJSicers  and  regular  meetings  ;  and  ministers  of  our  own  church 
took  a  prominent  part  in  nearly  all  of  them.  The  permanent 
chairman  in  the  very  largest  of  these  associations  was  a  Cumber- 
land Presbyterian.  Another  duty  which  some  of  the  chaplains  felt 
called  upon  to  fulfill,  was  to  preach  against  "  official  sins  " — not 
the  sins  of  "the  enemy,"  but  the  sins  of  their  own  generals,  and 
even  V^f  the  official  head  of  the  government  which  they  recognized. 
In  the  South,  at  least,  there  were  instances  in  which  Cumberland 
Presbyterian  chaplains  took  such  a  bold  staiid  in  the  presence  of 
the  very  parties  arraigned,  that  their  friends  expected  to  see  them 
put  under  arrest  or  punished  in  some  still  severer  manner.  On  one 
such  occasion,  after  the  chaplain  had  boldly  denounced,  in  the 
presence  of  all  the  leading  generals  of  "the  Aniiy  of  Tennessee,*' 
some  of  the  official  sins  of  those  very  generals,  and  had  taken  his 
seat  in  the  pulpit.  General  Leonidas  Polk  rose  to  his  feet,  walked 
up  to  the  pulpit,  seized  the  chaplain  by  the  hand,  and  said,  with 
deep  feeling  :   "  Sir,  I  thank  you  for  your  fidelity  this  day." 

It  was  next  to  impossible  for  a  chaplain  to  do  denominational 
work  in  the  camps.  A  few  tried  it  and  came  to  grief.  The  soldiers 
would  not  tolerate  any  man  who  undertook  sectarian  work  among 
them.  No  other  work  of  the  churches,  not  even  missions  to  the 
heathen,  has  ever  been  more  efficient  in  breaking  down  sectarian 
feeling.  Two  chaplains  had  worked  side  by  side  for  twelve  months 
when  one  of  them,  a  Cumberland  Presbyterian,  learned  with  sur- 
prise that  the  other  was  a  New  School  Presbyterian  ;  up  to  that 
time  he  had  thought  his  companion  a  Methodist     A  chaplain 


Chapter  XXXIX.]  PREACHING  TO   SOLDIERS.  423 

(Cumberland  Presbyterian)  was  sent  for  by  a  wealthy  lady  of  the 
Episcopalian  church.  Her  words  to  him  were  substantially  these  : 
* '  I  have  seen  the  time  when  I  Avould  have  preferred  risking  the 
death  of  my  boy  out  of  the  church  to  having  him  placed  under  the 
instruction  of  any  minister  who  is  not  an  Episcopalian  ;  but  I  have 
got  past  that.  My  son  is  in  your  regiment.  I  am  looking  daily  to 
hear  of  his  falling  in  battle.  He  is  not  ready  to  die.  I  want  you 
to  see  him  and  talk  to  him  about  his  soul's  salvation,  and  I  ask  you 
to  press  the  matter  upon  him  at  once. ' ' 

Some  samples  of  the  work  of  Cumberland  Presbyterian  ministers 
in  connection  with  the  Union  armies  are  presented  first.  The  Rev. 
A.  W.  White  and  the  Rev.  G.  N.  Mattox,  of  Pennsylvania,  spent 
a  brief  period  working  under  the  United  States  Christian  Commis- 
sion. Their  brief  services  produced  very  valuable  results.  It  is 
recorded  of  these  two  men  that,  among  other  good  deeds,  they  inter- 
posed to  prevent  mistreatment  of  prisoners.  They  preached  Jesus 
to  prisoners  as  well  as  to  the  soldiers  in  blue.  At  Decatur,  Ala- 
bama, they  secured  a  room  and  raised  their  flag.  Here  they  held 
regular  prayer-meetings  with  good  results.  There  were  inquirers 
after  the  way  of  salvation,  and  conversions  in  considerable  numbers 
in  this  room  under  the  preaching  of  these  missionaries.  Mr.  White 
mentions  with  gratitude  the  "fact  that  those  who  had  been  out  on 
picket  duty  came  in  and  reported  at  the  prayer-meeting  that  a  great 
revival  was  going  on  at  the  same  time  in  the  Confederate  army. 
Thus  God  was  at  work  on  both  sides  of  the  hostile  lines. 

One  day  Mr.  Mattox  found  in  the-  hospital  a  little  boy  whose 
right*  shoulder  was  shattered  by  a  piece  of  shell.  Talking  with 
this  child  about  his  soul,  he  soon  learned  that  the  boy  had  run 
away  from  a  Christian  mother  in  Vermont.  Mattox  prayed  with 
him  and  labored  for  him  till  he  saw  bright  evidences  of  conversion. 
The  child's  first  desire  then  was  that  Mattox  should  write  the  good 
news  to  his  mother.  This  was  done.  For  a  wonder  the  boy  recov- 
ered apparently,  and  for  a  while  made  a  hearty  worker  for  the  souls 
of  other  soldiers.  He  then  relapsed  and  died,  and  his  death  oc- 
curred about  the  same  time  that  Mattox  also  sickened  and  died. 
This  was  the  introduction  to  a  warm  correspondence  between  the 
boy's  mother,  in  Vermont,  and  the  preacher's  mother,  in  Pennsyl- 


424  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.        [Period  v. 

vania.  A  volume  might  be  filled  with  similar  incidents.  In  many- 
cases,  too,  the  parties  who  were  brought  into  communication  by- 
such  incidents  belonged  to  different  sides  of  the  great  contest. 
Among  Dr.  Beard's  literary  remains  are  several  intensely  interest- 
ing letters  of  this  class. 

A  curious  thing  about  Mattox  is  that  he  had  felt  himself  specially 
called  to  the  work  of  a  foreign  missionary.  It  does  not  detract  any 
thing  from  our  confidence  in  the  divine  origin  of  the  call,  to  see 
that  God  himself  thwarted  its  accomplishment.  God  called  Abra- 
ham to  offer  up  Isaac,  but  God  never  intended  to  let  Abraham  carry 
the  work  farther  than  a  certain  fixed  point.  God  calls  men  to 
preach,  and  sometimes  takes  them  home  to  heaven  before  they  de- 
liver their  first  sermon. 

Chaplain  A.  G.  Osborn,  of  Pennsylvania,  published  a  letter  ad- 
dressed to  Union  Presbytery,  from  which  this  extract  is  made: 

I  can,  through  the  mercy  of  God,  my  dear  brethren,  assure  you  that 
the  great  Head  of  the  church  has  not  left  himself  without  witnesses 
even  here,  amid  army  scenes  and  battle  strife.  During  nearly  the  whole 
of  this  winter  there  have  been  reviving  influences  in  our  camps.  About 
three  hundred  persons  have  professed  faith  in  Christ.  I  can  say  that  a 
great  change  has  taken  place  in  my  own  regiment  Our  camp,  it  is  true, 
has  a  great  deal  of  wickedness  in  it  yet;  but,  thank  the  Lord,  many  who 
but  recently  were  numbered  among  blasphemers  and  Sabbath-breakers, 
are  now  enrolled  among  the  names  constituting  our  regimental  church, 
or  "Christian  League,"  as  it  is  n^ore  fitly  denominated.  One  remark- 
able feature  in  the  case  is  the  fact  that  nearly  every  one  in  the  Four- 
teenth Regiment  that  has  made  a  profession,  has  taken  up  the  cross, 
and  prays  in  public.  I  know  of  but  one  or  two  exceptions.  We  now 
have  a  chapel  tent  erected.  The  Christian  commission  on  my  applica- 
tion, furnished  the  canvas  to  cover  it,  and  our  soldiers  labored  with  a 
good  will  to  get  it  built.  It  is  comfortably  seated,  and  has  a  stove  in  it. 
There  has  been  meeting  in  it  nearly  every  night  since  it  was  built,  and 
every  Sabbath  we  have  two  services.  A.  G.  Osborn, 

Chaplain  Fourteenth  Pennsylvania  Cavalry. 
Martinsburg,  West  Virginia,  March  21,  1S64. 

The  Rev.  H.  H.  Ashmore  served  long  and  faithfully  as  chaplain 
in  an  Illinois  regiment.  He  furnishes  some  interesting  incidents. 
He  says  that  in  all  the  protracted  intercourse  with  Cumberland 
Presbyterians,  which  the  long  sojourn  of  his  regiment  in  the  South 


Chapter  XXXIX.]  PREACHING  TO   SOLDIERS.  425 

enabled  him  to  hold,  he  met  with  no  one  of  them  who  did  not  ear- 
nestly desire  the  preservation  of  the  ecclesiastical  unity  of  the  church. 
That  his  observations  on  this  subject  were  in  keeping  with  the 
general  facts  in  the  case  will  be  seen  from  the  proceedings  of  the 
conventions  discussed  in  a  former  chapter.  This  fact,  and  that 
other  precious  fact  that  we  stood  undivided  through  the  war  which 
rent  other  churches  asunder,  is  a  valuable  proof  of  the  power  of 
that  spiritual  legacy  which  has  always  constituted  our  noblest  de- 
nominational heritage.  It  was  Milton  Bird  who,  in  a  sermon  in 
1864,  after  pointing  out  the  evils  of  disruption,  uttered  the  follow- 
ing noble  words:  ^'  If,  on  the  other  hand,  we  can  show  to  the  world 
a  church  which  is  able  through  divine  grace  to  rise  above  all  the 
passions  of  this  furious  war,  and  stand  bound  together  in  holy  unity 
by  a  divine  bond  which  no  national  strife  can  sunder,  then  truly 
may  we  put  forth  an  argument  for  the  divinity  of  Christianity  which 
infidelity  can  not  overthrow." 

At  the  battle  of  Pea  Ridge,  Arkansas,  Chaplain  Ashmore  was 
worn  down  by  work  with  wounded  men.  Late  at  night,  utterly 
exhausted,  he  sank  down  upon  a  log,  rested  his  head  upon  what  he 
supposed  was  a  fallen  limb  of  a  tree,  and  sank  to  sleep.  On  awak- 
ing in  the  morning,  he  found  that  his  pillow  was  the  amputated 
leg  of  some  poor  soldier.  Ashmore  testifies  that  the  dying  soldiers, 
however  wicked  they  had  been  in  life,  died  calling  on  the  name  of 
God.  "My  mother,"  "my  wife,"  "my  country,"  "my  God," 
Were  the  words  oftenest  on  the  dying  lips  of  those  over  whose  last 
moments  the  army  chaplains  kept  watch. 

While  Ashmore' s  regiment  was  at  Murfreesboro,  Tennessee, 
some  very  sore  trials  pressed  upon  the  chaplains.  They  met  to- 
gether once  to  consult  about  disbanding  and  going  home  in  a  body, 
but  the  proposition  was  not  carried  out.  Instead  of  going  home 
they  began  a  series  of  meetings.  God  blessed  their  efforts.  A  re- 
vival began  and  spread  far  through  that  portion  of  the  army.  Ash- 
more was  an  active  worker  in  this  revival,  and  it  was  estimated 
that  one  thousand  persons  were  converted  before  this  series  of  meet- 
ings closed. 

The  venerable  Hiram  A.  Hunter,  who  had  been  a  member  of 
General  Andrew  Jackson's  body-guard  in  the  war' of  1812,  and  was 


426  CUMBERI^AND   PRESBYTERIAN   HISTORY.  [Period  V. 

in  his  sixty-first  year  when  the  late  civil  war  began,  was  a  chap- 
lain in  the  Federal  army.  Neither  in  his  diary  nor  in  his  very  full 
autobiography  (MSS.)  docs  he  give  any  details  of  his  work  as  chap- 
lain, except  the  texts  he  used,  and  the  dates  of  certain  transactions. 

The  Rev.  J.  W.  Woods  served  as  chaplain  of  the  Fifth  Illinois 
Regiment  from  September,  1861,  till  the  close  of  the  war.  Like 
many  others  he  was  regularly  elected  by  the  men  of  the  regiment 
before  receiving  any  military  appointment.  For  several  mouths  he 
was  detailed  to  special  work  among  the  colored  people  who  flocked 
to  the  army.  He  diligently  circulated  Bibles,  tracts,  and  papers 
among  the  soldiers,  besides  doing  all  the  other  regular  work  usually 
done  by  chaplains.  He  was  with  his  regiment  at  Vicksburg,  and 
his  labors  there  resulted  in  many  conversions.  Three  of  these  con- 
verts afterward  entered  the  ministry. 

The  Rev.  S.  Richards,  D.D,,  was  also  chaplain  throughout  the 
war,  but  no  account  of  his  labors  has  been  secured. 

As  to  the  work  in  the  Southern  army,  a  few  selections  carefully 
made  are  here  presented  in  order  to  illustrate  different  features  of 
that  work.    A  large  volume  would  be  needed  to  furnish  a  full  history. 

About  the  time  the  chaplains  of  the  army  under  General  Rose- 
crans  were  consulting  as  to  the  propriety  of  disbanding  and  going 
home,  the  chaplains  in  Bragg' s  army  were  in  consultation  over  the 
same  kind  of  a  proposition.  A  meeting  of  all  the  chaplains  in  that 
army  had  been  called  to  consider  the  question  of  resigning  and 
going  home  en  masse.  The  feeling  was  quite  common  that  war 
and  religion  were  incompatible,  and  that  no  good  could  be  accom- 
plished by  preaching  to  soldiers.  A  few  of  the  chaplains  responded 
to  the  call.  After  the  proposition  to  abandon  the  chaplains'  work 
had  been  made  and  discussed  for  a  few  minutes,  the  Rev.  Mr.  ]\Iil- 
ligan,  of  the  Baptist  Church,  offered  some  resolutions  to  the  follow- 
ing effect: 

Resolved^  I.  That  the  souls  of  this  vast  multitude  are  too  precious 
to  be  abandoned  to  perdition. 

2.  That  God  is  able  to  give  his  own  called  ministers  the  victory  even 
among  soldiers. 

3.  That  the  chaplains  should  enter  into  a  covenant  to  pray  for  each 
other,  and  that  all  should  at  once  begin  protracted  meetings  in  their 
several  regiments,  claiming  this  whole  army  for  the  King  of  kings. 


Chapter  XXXIX.]  PREACHING  TO  SOLDIERS.  427 

These  resolutions  were  adopted.  One  week  from  that  day  the 
chaplains  met  again  to  report  results.  The  number  present  was 
much  larger  than  on  the  former  occasion.  The  bowed  heads  were 
lifted  up.  Every  chaplain  who  had  entered  into  the  covenant  one 
week  before,  reported  that  a  revival  had  already  begun  in  his  regi- 
ment. This  work  of  grace  went  on  till  the  armies  of  the  Confed- 
eracy were  disbanded. 

One  of  these  chaplains  was  the  Rev.  George  L.  Winchester,  of 
the  Madison  Presbytery,  of  our  church.  He  was  eminently  fitted 
for  a  chaplain's  work.  After  entering  into  this  covenant,  he  went 
back  to  his  regiment  and  began  his  series  of  meetings.  The  next 
week  he  reported  a  wonderful  revival  in  progress,  with  great  demand 
for  more  preaching.  Various  regiments  were  destitute  of  chaplains. 
Winchester  began  a  series  of  services  in  one  of  these,  besides  con- 
tinuing the  meetings  in  his  own  regiment.  Forgetting  that  his 
body  was  mortal,  or  ceasing  to  care  for  its  mortality,  he  carried  on 
this  double  service  for  a  considerable  time,  until,  in  the  midst  of 
his  labors,  he  suddenly  fell  and  was  gone  to  heaven  before  his  fellow 
chaplains  knew  that  he  was  ill.  His  regiment  was  like  a  family  of 
orphans,  mourning  a  father's  death.  Nearly  all  of  them  had  been 
led  to  Jesus  by  Winchester.  When  they  selected  a  new  chaplain 
the  principal  point  was  to  find  a  man  whom  Winchester  had  loved 
and  indorsed. 

An  exchanged  prisoner  who  had  belonged  to  that  regiment  re- 
turned to  it  after  Winchester's  death.  He  took  out  his  deck  of 
cards,  and  went  to  some  of  his  old  companions  to  have  a  game. 
They  all  declined,  stating  that  they  had  become  Christians.  He 
went  to  others  with  the  same  result.  He  made  the  trial  in  every 
mess  of  the  whole  regiment,  without  finding  a  single  one  to  join 
him.  With  a  bitter  oath  he  said:  "The  whole  regiment  has  got 
religion. ' ' 

Mention  has  been  made  of  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  South- 
ern Committee,  on  army  missions.  This  committee  resolved  to 
raise  a  salary  to  secure  a  general  missionary  for  "the  Army  of  Ten- 
nessee," to  whose  hands  they  might  commit  a  sort  of  supervision 
of  missionary  work  among  the  soldiers.  Three  failures  were  made 
before  a  suitable  man  was  obtained;  and  finally  one  of  the  chaplains 


428  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.        [Period  v. 

was  induced  to  resign  and  take  this  missionary  work  instead  of  his 
chaplaincy.  Under  his  management,  after  he  entered  on  this  gen- 
eral work,  money  was  raised  to  secure  the  Rev.  J.  L.  Cooper,  of 
Mississippi,  as  a  general  army  missionary,  and  Cooper  accepted. 
Besides  this,  several  other  arrangements  were  made  for  missions 
among  the  soldiers.  The  location  of  the  missionary  committee 
was  changed  from  the  army  of  Tennessee  to  Selma,  Alabama,  in 
1864,  and  under  its  direction,  aided  by  the  superintendent,  money 
was  raised  and  still  other  missionaries  secured. 

Mr.  Cooper  was  pre-eminently  fitted  for  the  missionary  work,  and 
he  devoted  himself  to  it  from  1863  till  the  end  of  the  war  with  an 
energy  and  fidelity  that  were  never  surpassed.  For  four  months  and 
five  days  he  held  meetings  on  the  lines,  under  fire,  every  night  except 
one.  At  every  meeting  his  congregations  were  measured  only  by 
the  compass  of  his  voice.  When  men  could  not  approach  near 
enough  to  hear  they  would  go  away.  This  was  during  Joe  John- 
ston's retreat  through  North  Georgia.  The  one  night  when  there 
was  no  meeting  the  army  marched  all  night.  Nor  was  Cooper  the 
only  one  who  had  services  every  night.  The  work  was  general  along 
all  the  lines.  There  were  fourteen  miles  of  revivals  nightly  and 
multitudes  of  conversions. 

The  programme  of  exercises  agreed  on  by  all  the  co-operating 
chaplains  in  this  army  was  as  follows:  First,  at  the  opening  of  the 
ser\dces  all  those  who  had  found  the  Savior  were  called  up  to 
ascertain  what  church  they  desired  to  join.  At  Cooper's  meetings 
the  number  responding  to  this  call  was  about  one  hundred  per 
night.  The  next  item  in  the  programme  was  to  call  up  all  who 
were  seeking  salvation.  To  this  invitation  a  still  larger  number 
always  responded.  Then  a  sermon  of  instruction  was  preached, 
specially  to  the  seekers.  Then  the  congregation  was  dismissed. 
At  every  service  during  this  bloody  retreat,  some  were  present 
who  would  be  killed  before  the  next  meeting.  Many  found  Jesus 
during  the  sermon;  some  after  they  went  out  into  the  picket  holes. 
These  holes  were  very  near  the  enemy,  and  the  pickets  had  to  be 
relieved  at  midnight,  and  there  were  always  men  killed  in  this 
work  of  relieving  pickets.  One  poor  fellow  gave  the  following 
account  of  his  conversion.     He  went  from  the  preaching  service  to 


Chapter  XXXIX.]  PREACHING  TO   SOLDIERS.  429 

picket  duty.  Getting  down  into  his  picket  hole,  still  thinking  of 
the  sermon,  still  eagerly  seeking  salvation,  he  felt  the  light  dawn 
upon  his  soul.  Forgetting  all  about  war  and  its  dangers,  he  raised 
himself  up  and  shouted,  ' '  Glory  to  God. ' '  Just  then  a  minie-ball 
cut  away  a  lock  of  his  hair,  grazing  the  scalp.  Down  into  his  hole 
he  crept  again,  but  his  soul  was  too  full  of  joy  to  suffer  him  long 
to  keep  in  mind  minie-balls,  and  in  a  little  while  he  again  rose  up 
shouting.  Another  bullet  went  through  his  clothing.  So  he 
said  he  "spent  the  night  alternately  praising  God  and  dodging 
the  devil."  On  being  questioned  what  he  meant  by  "dodging  the 
devil,"  he  said:  "It  is  my  opinion  that  his  satanic  majesty  was 
angry  about  losing  my  soul,  and  I  believe  he  rode  astraddle  of  everv 
one  of  those  balls,  but  the  Lord  would  not  let  them  hit  me." 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Baker,  of  Missouri,  a  Cumberland  Presbyterian, 
was  standing  on  the  breastworks  preaching.  In  his  sermon  he  was 
crying,  "Glor>'  to  God,"  when  a  ball  struck  him  and  killed  him  in- 
stantly. Old  men,  past  military  age,  were  army  chaplains.  Rev. 
J.  F.  McCutcheon,  of  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  church,  was  one 
of  these.  I  saw  this  old  man  when  his  garment?  were  riddled  with 
bullets,  for  he  always  went  along  with  his  men  wherever  duty 
called  him,  but  bullets  were  more  merciful  than  some  other  things. 
General  Bragg,  a  few  days  before  he  was  removed  from  the  command 
of  ' '  the  Army  of  Tennessee, ' '  issued  an  order  to  have  all  his  chap- 
lains' horses  pressed  for  military  uses.  Ministers  of  the  gospel  were 
exempted  from  conscription  in  ' '  Dixie, ' '  but  men  who  were  far 
past  the  military  age  were  in  the  chaplain  work.  The  Confederate 
government  furnished  no  horses  to  chaplains.  Bragg' s  order  paid 
no  respect  to  age.  Old  men  like  McCutcheon  were  robbed  by  it  of 
their  private  property,  except  where  some  generous  officer,  like 
George  Johnson,  who  was  allowed  several  horses,  claimed  the  chap- 
lain's horse,  and  kept  it  for  its  owner.  Ah  well  !  the  wa)'^  Bragg 
left  Missionary  Ridge,  a  few  days  after  that  order  about  the  chap- 
lains' horses,  always  seemed  to  me  to  be  a  special  retribution. 

One  little  incident  connected  with  this  missionary  work  is  too 
good  to  be  lost.  A  pocket-book  was  sent  to  our  missionary  com- 
mittee accompanied  with  the  following  statement:  "The  good 
sister  who  sent  it  is  a  widow.     Her  husband  was  killed  by  the  frag- 


430  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.        [Period  v. 

ment  of  a  shell  at  the  battle  of  Chickamauga.  The  deadly  missile 
struck  his  pocket  first,  and  drove  the  pocket-book  into  his  body. 
The  surgeon  extracted  it  with  its  contents.  The  widow  says  these 
blood-stained  bills  are  too  sacred  for  any  common  use.  She  sends 
them  to  the  missionary  board." 

The  trials  of  Southern  chaplains  were  very  great.  The  mess 
tax,  which  was  imposed  to  eke  out  sufficient  rations,  was  generally 
larger  than  a  chaplain's  salary.  It  would  require  a  month  and  a 
half's  wages  of  a  chaplain  to  buy  a  pound  of  coffee;  and  about  two 
years'  wages  to  buy  an  overcoat.  The  price  of  a  good  horse  was 
more  than  any  chaplain  earned  during  the  whole  war.  Yet  there 
were  chaplains  who  wore  out  as  many  as  five  horses  while  they  were 
in  the  service.  The  Southern  government  furnished  neither  horses 
nor  clothing  to  chaplains.  It  was  not  an  uncommon  thing  for 
chaplains  and  soldiers  to  be  brought  to  great  suffering  both  for 
rations  and  for  clothing. 

Chaplain  M.  B.  De  Witt,  now  the  Rev.  Dr.  De  Witt,  of  Nashville, 
Tennessee,  had  some  severe  trials.  The  country  where  his  home 
had  been,  and  where  he  had  left  his  wife,  was  invaded.  When  the 
state  of  things  became  unbearable  there,  Mrs.  De  Witt,  like  thou- 
sands of  others,  became  a  refugee.  Having  no  other  place  to  fly  to, 
she  went  to  the  camps,  and  remained  near  her  husband  through  all 
those  dreadful  last  struggles  of  the  Confederate  army.  De  Witt  was 
one  of  that  class  of  chaplains  whose  call  to  the  work  came  first  from 
the  men  of  the  regiment,  not  from  the  colonel.  Of  course  his 
official  nomination  had  to  be  made  by  the  colonel. 

Chaplains  with  the  cavalry  had  a  peculiar  lot.  Their  only  place 
during  a  battle  was  with  their  regiments.  Chaplain  A.  G.  Burrow 
was  one  of  these.  He  was  wounded,  and  came  to  the  writer's  tent. 
It  was  winter  and  bitter  cold.  The  wounded  chaplain  had  no  over- 
coat. His  other  coat  was  thin  and  ragged.  All  his  clothing  was 
worn  out.  His  wound  was  in  his  head,  and  his  skull  had  just  been 
trepanned.  His  face  was  the  color  of  a  corpse.  He  staggered  as  he 
walked.  His  voice,  once  so  quick  and  cheerful,  was  faint  and  fal- 
tering. The  wound  was  four  inches  long.  Yet  this  man,  who 
might  have  had  a  comfortable  home  under  his  father's  roof — who, 
both  by  reason  of  his  profession,  and  on  account  of  his  wound, 


Chapter  XXXIX.]  PREACHING  TO   SOLDIERS.  431 

might  have  found  exemption  from  further  service — chose  rather  to 
remain  as  chaplain  with  the  soldiers,  and  continue  his  efforts  to 
lead  them  to  their  Savior.     (Acts  xx.  24.) 

ISIany  other  chaplains  deserve  as  favorable  notice  as  those  men- 
tioned in  the  foregoing  sketches,  but  as  it  would  require  a  large 
volume  to  give  a  full  history  of  all,  only  such  illustrations  have 
been  selected  as  the  most  reliable  materials  at  hand  furnish.  There 
were  other  Cumberland  Presbyterian  preachers  who  gave  their  lives 
up,  as  G.  L.  Winchester  gave  his,  a  willing  sacrifice  for  the  salva- 
tion of  the  soldiers.  Sharing  the  privations  and  dangers  of  siege 
or  battle,  eating  mule  beef  at  Vicksburg,  or  marching  all  "night  in 
the  mad  raids,  and,  when  the  fight  came  on,  following  along  the 
battle's  fiery  front  to  pick  up  the  wounded  and  carry  them  back  to 
the  field  hospital ;  then  returning  to  the  line  to  bend  over  the  dying, 
and  there,  on  the  bloody  field,  to  write  their  last  message  to  loved 
ones  at  home,  while  shells  hurtled  and  minie-balls  whistled  thick 
around  them,  were  some  of  the  tasks  and  duties  which  fell  to  the 
lot  of  our  army  missionaries. 

In  the  wonderful  revival  in  the  Southern  armies  the  number  of 
conversions  must  have  reached  an  aggregate  of  more  than  a  hun- 
dred thousand  men.  Dr.  Felix  Johnson,  now  gone  to  his  rest, 
once  said,  while  this  work  was  going  on:  "God  is  going  to  answer 
all  these  prayers  and  fast-days  which  the  people  of  the  South  are 
having — not  by  setting  up  a  new  Republic,  but  by  converting  all 
the  Southern  soldiers."  At  two  different  times,  by  two  different 
men,  an  extensive  history  of  this  great  revival  was  prepared,  many 
years  ago,  but,  for  unknown  reasons  neither  of  these  works  was 
ever  published.  No  history  of  the  great  conflict  can  be  complete 
without  an  account  of  this  wonderful  work  of  grace. 


433  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.        [Period  v. 


CHAPTER   XL. 


COLORED   CUMBERLAND   PRESBYTERIANS. 

Let  us  have  faith  in  God's  all-wise  intention, 

His  plans  will  never  fail; 
Though  far  beyond  our  feeble  comprehension, 

We  know  it  must  prevail. 

— 5.  A.  Stoddard . 

O  stranger,  with  all  your  wealth. 

Do  you  'spect  to  buy  heaven  and  keep  it  for  yourself? 

— Negro  Melody. 

BEFORE  the  war  there  were  twenty  thousand  colored  Cumber- 
land Presbyterians.  These  all  belonged  to  the  same  congre- 
gations of  which  the  white  people  were  members,  and  were  under 
the  ministrations  of  the  same  preachers  who  served  the  white 
conofreofations.  While  there  were  instances  in  the  South  in  which 
white  men  built  separate  churches  for  their  slaves  and  hired  for 
them  separate  pastors,  yet  there  were  no  such  instances  among  the 
Cumberland  Presbyterians.  In  our  church  colored  members  every- 
where attended  the  same  services  with  the  white  people .  It  is  true 
that  separate  seats  were  appropriated  to  them,  but  white  people 
and  black  were  taught  the  way  of  salvation  by  the  same  pastors. 
In  addition  to  this  privilege  of  attending  services  along  with  the 
white  people,  the  colored  people  had  preachers  of  their  own  race, 
and  held  their  own  special  servdces,  occupying  the  same  houses 
which  were  owned  and  used  by  the  white  congregations.  State 
laws  generally  required  that  some  steady  white  man  should  be 
present  at  these  meetings.  This  requirement  was  always  complied 
with. 

An  illustration  showing  the  nature  of  pastoral  work  in  a  con- 
gregation made  up  of  white  people  and  their  slaves  will  doubtless 
be  of  interest.  In  a  town  in  Middle  Tennessee  the  pastor  of  such 
a  church  had  under  his  charge  one  hundred  and  fifty  colored  mem- 
bers.    He  was  as  much  the  pastor  of  the  humblest  of  these  as  of 


Chapter  XL.]    COLORED   CUMBERLAND   PRESBYTERIANS.  433 

the  wealthiest  and  most  influential  white  member.  Common 
sense,  if  nothing  better,  required  that  his  pastoral  labors  among 
these  people  should  conform  to  the  wishes  and  interests  of  the 
owners.  Many  a  time  was  he  taken  by  the  mistress  into  the  negro 
cabin  to  minister  to  some  afflicted  servant.  Many  a  time,  too, 
under  similar  direction,  did  he  go  to  the  negro  cabin  to  pray  for 
some  penitent  sinner,  and  try  to  lead  him  to  his  Savior.  While 
he  was  the  pastor  of  these  colored  people  he  had  a  colored  assist- 
ant, ' '  Brother  Jim, ' '  the  property  of  one  of  the  elders.  It  was 
Jim's  custom  regularly  to  bring  the  notes  of  his  sermon  to  the 
white  pastor  Saturday  afternoon  for  criticism;  and  when  something 
was  pointed  out  to  be  corrected  he  never  failed  to  make  the  sug- 
gested changes.  Jim  preached  at  three  o'clock  Sunday  afternoons 
in  the  same  pulpit  which  had  been  occupied  by  the  regular  pastor 
in  the  morning.  It  was  the  pastor's  duty  and  pleasure  as  a  Chris- 
tian to  be  present  at  these  three  o'clock  services,  and  he  testifies 
that  he  has  heard  no  preaching  from  our  colored  brethren  since 
the  war  which  was  as  near  the  pure  gospel  as  Jim's  simple  and 
earnest  discourses.  There  were  many  converts  at  these  meetings. 
This  is  a  sample  of  the  general  order  of  things  with  Cumberland 
Presbyterian  pastors  throughout  the  Southern  States  before  the 
war. 

At  the  camp-meetings  there  were  some  special  arrangements 
for  colored  worshipers.  A  shed  in  front  of  the  pulpit  was  built 
for  the  white  people,  and  another  in  the  rear  for  the  colored 
people.  When  the  call  for  mourners  was  made  at  the  close  of  the 
sermon,  seats  next  the  pulpit  both  front  and  rear  were  reserved 
for  the  penitents.  There  were  many  conversions  in  the  rear  of 
the  pulpit  as  well  as  in  the  front;  but  the  negroes  never  seemed  to 
feel  entirely  free  to  work  in  their  own  way  until  the  white  people 
closed  their  services  and  went  to  their  tents.  Then  began  a  scene 
of  wild  excitement  and  wonderful  interest  which  no  pen  can 
describe.  The  singing  at  such  a  time  was  specially  interesting. 
Nothing  in  the  meetings  of  the  colored  people  at  the  present  day 
makes  any  approximation  to  these  revival  melodies.  The  camp- 
meeting  songs  of  the  negroes,  like  the  corn  songs  of  that  period, 
were  rich,  original,  and  genuine  African  productions.  When  a 
28 


434  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.        [Period  v. 

thousand  negroes,  keeping  time  with  foot  and  head,  with  arms  and 
body,  poured  out  all  their  souls  upon  the  night  air  in  a  camp- 
meetincf  chorus  suited  to  their  voices  and  their  culture,  the  weird 
and  solemn  grandeur  and  grotesqueness  were  indescribable. 

Our  colored  ministers  sometimes  preached  to  white  audiences. 
There  was  a  colored  Cumberland  Presbyterian  preacher  in  Missouri 
who  often  preached  at  camp-meetings  to  the  white  people.  It  was 
everywhere  the  custom  among  Cumberland  Presb}-terians  to  ordain 
white  and  colored  preachers  in  precisely  the  same  way  and  by  the 
same  presbyters,  except  that  the  necessities  of  the  case  made  it 
necessary  to  use  leniency  about  literary  requirements.  The  educa- 
tion of  the  colored  preacher  in  the  days  of  slavery  was  secured 
under  no  little  disadvantage.  Generally  his  teacher  was  his 
*' young  master,"  usually  a  lad  of  from  twelve  to  eighteen.  His 
theological  instruction  was  obtained  partly  at  church,  partly  at 
the  meetings  of  the  presbyter)^,  where  he  was  catechised,  and 
partly  in  private  interviews  with  his  pastor. 

The  old  order  of  things  broke  down  during  the  war.  The 
origin  of  this  change  has  often  been  misunderstood.  It  was  by 
their  own  choice,  and  without  any  promptings  by  their  former 
masters,  that  the  colored  members  of  our  church  ceased  to  attend 
services  with  the  white  people.  The  change  was  universal,  and  in 
all  the  denominations.  A  state  of  things  sprang  up  during  the 
war  which  not  only  led  to  this  result,  but  also  closed  their  ears  for 
a  time  against  all  white  preachers  of  Southern  antecedents. 

After  the  war,  in  October,  1868,  the  colored  people  of  the  Cum- 
berland Presbyterian  church  held  a  convention  at  Henderson,  Ken- 
tucky, to  decide  what  steps  should  be  taken.  The  convention  was 
not  large,  but  the  prevailing  voice  was  for  ecclesiastical  separation 
from  the  whites.  A  call  for  another  convention  to  meet  in  Hunts- 
ville,  Alabama,  January,  1869,  w^as  responded  to  by  only  a  few. 
Those  who  met  decided  to  defer  all  action  until  the  next  IMay,  and 
endeavor  to  have  a  full  delegation  of  colored  ministers  in  a  con- 
vention to  be  held  at  the  same  time  and  place  at  which  the  next 
General  Assembly  was  to  meet.  The  Banner  of  Peace  joined 
heartily  in  the  call  for  a  full  convention.  Dr.  W.  D.  Chadick, 
pastor  of  our  church  at  Murfreesboro,  where  the  Assembly  w^as  to 


Chapter  XL.]    COLORED   CUMBERLAND   PRESBYTERIANS.  435 

meet,  published  assurauces  that  all  the  colored  delegates  would  be 
entertained  free  of  charge.  A  full  delegation  was  present.  After 
this  convention  had  held  several  meetings,  the  Rev.  Moses  T.  Weir, 
brother  of  our  African  missionary',  went  to  one  of  the  members  of 
the  General  Assembly  and  requested  his  co-operation  in  obtaining 
the  consent  of  the  Assembly  to  the  organization  of  a  separate 
African  Cumberland  Presbyterian  church.  In  a  long  conversation 
on  this  subject  Weir  said  that  colored  men  would  never  learn  self- 
reliance  and  independence  in  the  same  church  judicatures  with  the 
white  people.  It  seemed  evident  that  much  larger  financial  assist- 
ance for  the  work  among  the  negroes  could  be  secured  by  I\Ir. 
Weir's  plan  than  by  any  other. 

In  a  short  time  the  convention  sent  in  to  the  General  Assembly 
its  official  action.  That  action  declares  that  "it  would  not  be  for 
the  advancement  of  the  interests  of  the  church  amonsf  either  the 
white  or  colored  people  for  the  ministers  of  the  two  races  to  meet 
together  in  the  same  judicatures."  The  convention  therefore 
asked  the  Assembly  to  adopt  a  plan  by  which,  under  the  superin- 
tendence and  by  assistance  of  the  whites,  they  might  be  organized 
into  separate  presbyteries  and  synods.  It  asked  also  for  financial 
aid  in  setting  up  the  new  organization. 

To  all  of  this  the  Assembly  gave  its  consent,  and  appointed  the 
necessary  committees  for  carrying  out  the  plan.  Under  this  plan 
several  colored  presbyteries  were  organized  that  same  year.  The 
committee  to  co-operate  with  the  colored  people  in  this  organiza- 
tion, and  in  establishing  a  school  for  the  education  of  their  minis- 
ters, was  composed  of  the  Rev.  J.  C.  Bowden,  D.D.,  the  Rev. 
Barnett  IMiller,  the  Rev.  Thomas  E.  Young,  together  with  ruling 
elders  A.  M.  C.  Simmons  and  A.  J.  Fuqua.  This  committee,  be- 
sides such  aid  as  it  was  practicable  to  give  in  organizing  presby- 
teries, also  appointed  the  Rev.  Moses  T.  Weir  agent  to  secure  funds 
for  the  establishment  of  a  college  for  colored  people. 

In  the  organization  of  the  colored  presbyteries  others  besides 
the  committee  rendered  valuable  assistance.  The  Rev.  M.  B.  De 
Witt,  D.  D. ,  was  perhaps  the  very  first  to  aid  in  this  work. 

All  seemed  to  start  ojEF  with  the  utmost  harmony.  No  jar  had 
occurred  up  to   1870.     In  May  of  that  year,  when  our  General 


436  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.        [Period  v. 

Assembly  met  at  Warrensburg,  Missouri,  the  Rev.  Moses  T.  Weir 
appeared  with  a  commission  from  the  Greenville  Presbytery  (col- 
ored), asking  a  seat  as  a  member  of  the  Assembly.  Fears  were 
entertained  by  Southern  members  that  somebody  was  tr>'ing  to 
use  Weir  for  political  purposes,  and  there  were  in  the  Assembly 
indications  of  serious  trouble  about  this  matter.  The  commission 
which  ]\Ir.  Weir  presented  was  read  by  Dr.  Bird,  the  stated  clerk, 
and  action  concerning  it  was  deferred  until  after  the  committee 
appointed  the  year  before  at  IMurfreesboro,  Tennessee,  to  co-operate 
with  the  colored  people  in  their  efforts  to  establish  an  institution  of 
learning  should  make  its  report.  The  matter  came  up  several  times 
during  the  first  four  days  of  the  Assembly's  meeting,  and  there 
were  some  exciting  discussions.  Finally,  the  Rev.  W.  S.  Camp- 
bell, D.D.,  of  Illinois,  called  attention  to  the  fact  that  there  was 
no  proper  information  before  the  General  Assembly  touching  the 
organization  or  existence  of  Greenville  Presbytery^,  and  on  his 
motion  i\Ir.  Weir's  informal  commission  was  almost  unanimously 
laid  on  the  table.  A  similar  case  was  before  the  next  Assembly, 
with  similar  results.  Since  then  all  strife  about  the  relations  of 
our  church  to  the  colored  people  has  ceased. 

The  colored  Cumberland  Presbyterians  have  continued  their 
work  with  var}ang  prosperity,  but  their  success  has  been  far  be- 
Yond  what  the  many  discouragements  would  have  led  us  to  expect. 
They  now  have  a  General  Assembly,  a  Board  of  ]\Iissions,  a  Board 
of  Publication,  and  other  boards.  The  increase  in  the  number  of 
their  ministers  has  been  wonderful.  They  have  five  synods,  nine- 
teen presbyteries,  two  hundred  ordained  ministers,  two  hundred 
and  twenty-five  licensed  preachers,  two  hundred  candidates  for  the 
ministry,  and  fifteen  thousand  members.  Although  there  were 
about  twenty  thousand  colored  Cumberland  Presbyterians  in  i860, 
only  a  very  small  portion  of  them  were  gathered  into  this  inde- 
pendent denomination.  The  Rev.  Robert  Johnson,  corresponding 
delegate  sent  from  that  church  to  our  General  Assembly  in  1874, 
made  the  following  statement: 

Moderator  and  Brethren:  Believing  that  more  good  would  be 
accomplished  by  a  separate  organization,  the  body  which  I  have  the 
honor  to  represent  hailed  with  pleasure  the  action  taken  by  the  General 


Chapter  XL.]    COLORED   CUMBERLAND   PRESBYTERIANS.  437 

Assembly  of  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  church  in  Murfreesboro, 
Tennessee,  in  May,  1S69.  With  the  assistance  and  co-oiDeration  of 
presbyteries  under  your  control,  a  number  of  colored  ministers  have 
been  from  time  to  time  set  apart  to  the  whole  work  of  the  ministry  to 
labor  among  their  own  people.  These  ministers  have  formed  them- 
selves into  presbyteries  and  synods,  and  on  the  first  day  of  May,  1874, 
commissioners  from  the  .various  presbyteries  met  in  the  city  of  Nash- 
ville, Tennessee,  and  formed  a  General  Assembly.  That  body  deter- 
mined to  appoint  a  corresponding  delegate  to  represent  them  in  this 
meeting  of  your  reverend  body,  and  that  duty  devolved  upon  me.  Un- 
der the  control  of  the  body  which  I  represent,  there  are  now  seven 
presbyteries,  viz.:  Huntsville,  Elk  River,  Farmington,  Pliwassee,  New 
Hopewell,  New  Middleton,  and  Springfield.  The  first  four  constitute 
the  Synod  of  Tennessee,  and  the  last  three  the  Synod  of  Huntsville. 
In  our  communion  we  number  now,  as  nearly  as  can  be  ascertained,  46 
ordained  ministers,  20  licentiates,  30  candidates,  and  3,000  communi- 
cants. The  value  of  church  property  is  about  $5,000.  We  earnestly 
desire,  moderator  and  brethren,  to  have  your  assistance  and  co-opera- 
tion. We  are  weak,  you  are  strong;  we  are  young  as  an  organization, 
you  are  old.  We  need  the  benefit  of  your  experience.  Above  all,  we 
need  your  prayers.  For  these  things  I  confidently  ask,  and  may  the 
great  Head  of  the  church  accept  you  and  us  with  all  true  believers  into 
his  holy  keeping  always. 

In  twelve  years  the  growth  in  numbers  in  the  ministry  and 
membership  of  this  church  has  been  five  hundred  per  cent. 

The  school  for  colored  Cumberland  Presbyterians  at  Bowling 
Green,  Kentucky,  lias  never  received  any  considerable  assistance 
from  the  wealthy.  Perhaps  the  whole  church  has  not  contributed 
as  much  as  ten  thousand  dollars  for  its  establishment  and  support. 
It  is  a  struggling  enterprise,  yet  it  has  done  some  good  work  in 
spite  of  its  disadvantages.  At  the  meeting  of  our  General  Assem- 
bly at  Covington,  Ohio,  May,  1887,  nearly  $2,700  was  raised  for 
the  benefit  of  this  institution,  thus  freeing  it  from  debt. 

We  all  acknowledge  our  obligation  to  send  the  gospel  to  Africa, 
and  think  it  a  noble  work  of  Christian  heroism  to  go  to  that  dark 
land  and  win  souls  to  Christ;  but  the  Africans  here  at  our  doors 
have  still  stronger  claims  on  us.  In  spite  of  past  difficulties  and 
theoretical  fears,  it  stands  to-day  as  a  demonstrated  fact  wherever 
tested  that  labors  in  the  interest  of  the  colored  people  by  Southern 
white  men  are  not  only  acceptable,  but  also  fruitful  of  good  results. 


438  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.        [Period  v. 

The  Rev.  J.  L.  Cooper,  who  was  army  missionar}',  furnishes 
an  account  of  his  work  among  the  negroes  of  Mississippi  since  the 
war.  In  the  field  where  he  labored  the  "prohibition"  ticket  tri- 
umphed through  negro  votes,  and  that,  too,  when  the  advocates 
of  the  liquor  traffic  with  money  and  whisky  sought  to  corrupt 
these  voters.  Mr.  Cooper  had  his  hands  full  of  other  work,  but 
he  made  occasional  tours  among  the  negroes,  and  he  testifies  that 
these  occasional  visits  yielded  better  fruits  than  his  labors  among 
the  white  people.  He  says  that  the  negroes  of  INIississippi  are 
ever}^' where  accessible  if  Southern  white  preachers  approach  them 
in  the  right  spirit.  This  is  the  testimony  of  a  man  bom  and  reared 
in  Mississippi — a  man  who  was  a  missionary  in  the  rebel  army. 

There  ought  to  be  an  organized  system  of  evangelistic  work 
among  the  negroes  by  Cumberland  Presbyterians,  and  Southern 
white  men  should  lead  in  this  work.  There  ought  to  be  minis- 
ters and  lay  workers  in  the  South  noble  enough  and  with  enough 
of  the  spirit  of  Christ  to  trample  under  foot  all  foolish  prejudices, 
and  render  personal  assistance  in  the  meetings  and  the  Sabbath- 
schools  of  the  colored  people.  Why  should  a  young  man  who  had 
a  negro  nurse  for  daily  companion  and  instructor  through  all  the 
tenderest  and  most  impressible  years  of  childhood,  now  be  thrust 
out  and  lose  caste  because  he  tries  to  instruct  a  class  in  the  col- 
ored Sabbath-school,  or  leads  the  worship  in  a  meeting  of  colored 
people  ? 

The  religious  interests  of  the  colored  Cumberland  Presbyterians 
will  no  doubt  be  best  developed  in  a  separate  denomination  of 
their  own,  where  the  whole  responsibility  of  their  ecclesiastical 
affairs  is  placed  in  their  own  hands.  Yet  who  can  doubt  that  it  is 
our  solemn  duty  to  help  them  establish  a  school  for  the  instruction 
of  their  preachers  ?  And  when  this  school  is  established,  one  of 
our  educated  white  men  who  is  sound  in  the  faith  should  be 
secured  for  its  theological  department  until  the  time  comes  when 
enough  of  scholarship  and  enough  of  soundness  in  the  faith  are 
found  among  the  colored  preachers  to  enable  them  to  teach  their 
own  candidates  for  the  ministr}'. 

As  a  fitting  close  to  this  chapter,  the  appeal  of  the  Rev.  J.  F. 
Humphrey  to  our  Assembly  in  1879  is  inserted: 


Chapter  XL.]    COLORED   CUMBERLAND   PRESBYTERIANS.  439 

Fayetteville,  Tenn.,  May  14,  1879, 

To  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  church,  Metn^his,  Tenn. 

The  General  Assembly  (colored)  of  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian 
church,  which  convened  at  Bowling  Green,  Kentucky,  May  i,  1879, 
conferred  the  honor  upon  me  to  address  your  reverend  and  honored 
body,  to  set  forth  our  warm  sympathies  and  Christian  love.  We  look 
upon  you  as  our  fathers  and  our  refuge  in  time  of  need,  and  feel 
assured  that  you  will  hear  the  cries  of  your  poor,  humble,  destitute 
children.  We  have  been  set  apart  only  a  few  years,  and  through  much 
prayer  and  hard  struggles  we  have  been  able  to  sustain  the  doctrine  of 
our  fathers,  which  is  as  dear  as  life  itself  to  us.  As  children,  you  have 
our  prayers  that  all  the  proceedings  of  your  body  may  be  guided  by 
the  unerring  counsel  .of  the  God  of  our  fathers.  We  pray  that  the 
day  may  not  be  far  distant  when  our  poor  young  preachers  shall  be 
imbued  with  the  spirit  and  wisdom  which  distinguishes  your  noble 
body.  You  have  our  sincere  and  heartfelt  thanks  for  your  liberal 
donations  to  our  young  preacher  at  Lebanon,  Tennessee,  at  your  last 
sitting,  and  we  humbly  solicit  and  pray  that  you  will  still  remember  us, 
and  provide  some  means  to  aid  us  in  the  publication  of  our  little  paper, 
which  we  desire  to  issue  in  the  interest  of  our  church.  I  herewith  send 
you  a  circular  letter,  which  will  set  forth  our  desires  and  intentions. 
Should  it  trespass  upon  your  precious  time  and  suspend  your  business 
to  read  this  article,  please  allow  your  minds  to  reflect  upon  our  deplora- 
ble condition  when  we  were  set  apart,  by  our  own  request,  expecting, 
after  we  had  made  earnest  endeavors  to  help  ourselves,  that  you  would 
extend  the  aiding  hand  to  succor  your  child  that  looks  to  its  father  for 
assistance. 

We  truly  regretted  that  we  were  deprived  of  the  counsel  of  your 
corresponding  delegate  at  Bowling  Green,  as  he  did  not  appear  or  send 
any  communication  whatever.  We  value  your  prayers  for  the  fulfill- 
ment of  our  desires,  and  shall  ever  expect  your  earnest  petitions  to 
ascend  to  the  throne  of  grace  in  our  behalf.  If  nothing  else  is  done 
but  the  offering  of  your  prayers  in  our  behalf,  the  dark  cloud  will  be 
dispei'sed,  and  then  we  shall  be  able  to  rejoice  in  the  God  of  our  fathers. 

Please  remember  the  colored  Cumberland  Presbyterians  in  your 
devotional  exercises.  If  you  do  this,  we  feel  confident  that  the  obstacles 
will  be  removed,  and  we  shall  be  able  to  advance  in  our  work,  ever 
holding  up  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  banner,  with  the  precious 
name  of  Jesus  inscribed  upon  it.  May  God  be  with  you  and  conduct 
the  business  of  your  body  to  the  approval  and  approbation  of  the 
Supreme  Moderator  of  the  universe. 

Yours  fraternally,  J.  F.  Humphrey, 

Stated  Clerk  Cumberland  Presbyterian  Assembly. 


440  CUMBERI.AND   PRESBYTERIAN    HISTORY.  [Period.  V. 


CHAPTER   XLI. 


MISSIONS— 1860  TO  1S70. 

"Sow  in  faith  through  joy  and  sorrow, 

Lo,  tlie  promise  standeth  plain, 

There  shall  dawn  a  harvest  morrow, 

Seeds  that  die  shall  live  again." 

N  i860  tliere  were  in  the  United  States  fourteen  Cumberland 

Presbyterian  missions  in  cities  and  larger  towns.  So  far  as  can 
be  ascertained,  self-sustaining  cliurclies  have  been  established  at  all 
these  points,  except  in  Ivouisville,  Kentucky,  San  Antonio,  Texas, 
and  Burlington,  Iowa.  The  work  at  Burlington  has  been  finally 
abandoned.  At  Ivouisville  and  San  Antonio  promising  mission 
churches  are  now  growing  up. 

While  the  war  raged,  mission  work  was  prosecuted  at  ]\Iattoon, 
Macomb,  Atlanta,  Winona,  and  Jersey ville,  Illinois;  Leavenworth 
Kansas;  and  Waukon,  Oskaloosa  and  Nevada,  Iowa.  Most  of  this 
work  was  under  the  charge  of  the  Board  of  Missions  at  Alton, 
Illinois.  The  churches  at  Waukon,  Nevada,  Mattoon  and  Atlanta 
have  become  self-sustaining. 

In  the  years  immediately  succeeding  the  war  missions  were 
reported  at  Austin,  Texas,  and  Bowling  Green,  Kentucky;  also  at 
Paducah,  Kentucky;  Clarksville,  Chattanooga,  and  Shelby  ville, 
Tennessee;  and  Helena,  Arkansas.  The  first  two  advanced  rap- 
idly to  a  self-sustaining  strength. 

On  the  Pacific  coast  no  new  missions  in  cities  or  towns  were 
undertaken  during  this  period.  Some  active  country  missions  and 
valuable  itinerent  work  were  reported.  The  missionaries  of  this 
period  in  California  were  D.  E.  Bushnell,  E.  C.  Latta,  O.  D.  Dooley, 
E.  J.  Gillespie,  C.  H.  Crawford,  L.  Dooley,  W.  N.  Cunningham, 
and  C.  Yager.  Some  of  these  labored  in  local  missions,  and  some 
traveled  only  for  a  short  period.     There  was  a  missionar}'  board,  or 


Chapter  XLI.]  MISSIONS.  441 

committee,  in  California.  But  little  or  no  help  was  sent  from  the 
older  portions  of  the  church  to  any  part  of  the  Pacific  coast. 

In  other  States,  itinerent  missionaries  were  not  numerous.  The 
Rev.  Benjamin  Hall  was  kept  at  work  in  Iowa  part  of  the  time  as 
missionary  evangelist,  and  part  of  the  time  in  charge  of  the  Waukon 
mission.  He  gave  frequent  accounts  of  precious  revivals.  The 
Rev.  P.  H.  Crider  was  missionary  in  the  same  State,  devoting  him- 
self partly  to  a  local  field  and  laboring  also  as  an  evangelist.  Pie, 
too,  reported  gracious  revivals.  The  same  statements  apply  to  the 
Rev.  A.  H.  Houghton,  who  was  laboring  in  Iowa  and  Minnesota. 
At  the  beginning  of  this  period  the  Rev.  J.  B.  Green  was  working 
in  Kansas  as  an  itinerant  missionary  under  the  direction  of  the 
Board  of  Missions  at  Lebanon,  Tennessee.  He  had  remarkable 
success.  The  Rev.  A.  M.  Wilson  was  employed  as  a  missionary  in 
Kansas  during  part  of  this  period.  The  board  says  of  him :  ' '  He 
is  a  faithful,  self-sacrificing  brother." 

The  principal  new  territories  entered  by  our  people  between  i860 
and  1870  were  Nebraska  and  Colorado.  This  work  began  through 
the  immigration  of  Cumberland  Presbyterians  into  these  Terri- 
tories, but  so  little  was  accomplished  in  these  fields  that  it  is  best 
to  reserve  it  to  be  placed  along  with  the  events  of  the  next  period. 

Although  the  entire  work  of  the  Board  of  IMissions  at  Lebanon, 
Tennessee,  was  suspended  by  the  war;  and  although  the  inter\'en- 
ing  military  lines  prevented  any  communication  between  the  board 
at  Alton,  Illinois,  and  our  Indian  missions,  yet  these  missions 
stubbornly  refused  to  die.  The  Rev.  R.  S.  Bell  and  his  wife,  with 
the  native  preachers  to  aid  them,  determined  to  keep  the  churches 
alive.  All  through  the  war,  without  any  salary  from  the  board. 
Bell  labored  on.  The  Indians  helped  to  feed  him;  but  it  was  by 
a  hard  struggle,  and  through  much  privation  and  self-denial,  that 
the  work  was  sustained.  The  fruits  of  this  self-sacrificing  toil  will 
endure  forever.  When  the  war  closed  and  mails  were  re-established, 
it  was  with  feelings  of  amazement  that  the  church  found  this  mis- 
sionary hero  still  at  his  post.     He  continued  in  this  work  till  1880. 

The  foreign  missionary  work  of  Cumberland  Presbyterians 
during  this  period  was  in  three  fields:  the  Indian  country,  Liberia, 
and  Turkey.     The  work  of  Edmond  Weir  in  Africa  was  continued 


442  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.        [Period  v. 

througli  all  these  dark  war  years.  From  1861  till  he  came  back  to 
America,  in  1868,  his  letters  grew  more  and  more  gloomy.  Writing 
to  the  Rev.  J.  B.  Logan,  from  Cape  Mount,  Liberia,  September  11, 
1 86 1,  he  says: 

This  mornhig  I  must  confess  that  I  am  at  a  great  loss  to  know  how 

to  write  these  lines  to  you  in  the  United  States I  think  that 

my  good  Brother  Logan  will  drop  me  a  few  lines  and  let  me  hear  how 
stands  the  case  with  the  board  and  its  foreign  fields  of  labor.  I  know, 
from  what  I  read,  that  it  can  not  do  much  at  present  toward  paying  us 
off.  But  when  will  it  ?  I  am  bare  for  clothing — indeed  I  may  say  that 
I  have  but  one  coat;  ....  and  I  don't  know  what  I  will  have  to 
do,  seeing  those  who  have  such  things  for  sale,  say:  "I  can  not  credit 
you,  for  I  think  that  your  board  will  not  do  any  thing  more."  .... 
Now,  if  any  member  of  the  board  were  to  drop  me  a  line,  saying,  "The 
board  will  send  you  some  money  in  a  short  time,"  I  could  get  credit, 
and  not  suffer  so  much.  Will  you  please  let  me  know  how  stands 
the  case  at  this  time.  Please  write  as  soon  as  you  get  this  letter,  so  that 
I  can  know  what  to  do. 

I  am  your  most  humble  servant,  E.  Weir. 

While  the  war  progressed,  and  the  Board  of  IVIissions  at  Leba- 
non was  inoperative,  the  Alton  board  took  charge  of  this  Liberia 
mission,  but  could  send  Weir  only  a  very  meager  support,  and 
utterly  failed  to  secure  any  other  preachers  to  join  him.  When 
the  board  at  Lebanon  resumed  operations  in  1867^  the  missions  were 
divided  between  the  boards,  and  the  work  in  Liberia  fell  to  the 
Alton  board.  Weir's  letters  were  gloomy;  his  wife's  still  more  so. 
In  1868  he  left  his  family  in  Africa,  and  came  to  America  to  see 
what  was  the  matter.  He  attended  the  meeting  of  the  Alton  board, 
but  was  not  much  encouraged  by  what  he  there  learned.  That 
board  was  in  debt,  and  had  no  money  for  him.  It,  however,  gave 
him  permission  to  canvass  its  field  and  collect  all  the  help  he  could. 
After  a  brief  and  very  unprofitable  canvass,  he  was  requested  by  the 
board  to  take  a  mission  to  the  freedmen  of  the  Southern  States, 
instead  of  his  African  mission.  This  he  declined.  The  board 
then  asked  the  advice  of  the  General  Assembly,  and  was  instructed 
to  abandon  the  Liberia  mission. 

This  is  a  sad  record  to  make,  but  it  will  be  borne  in  mind  that 
all  the  Southern  States,  where  two  thirds  of  our  people  lived,  were 


Chapter  XLL]  MISSIONS.  443 

in  a  state  of  extreme  financial  prostration.  North  as  well  as  South 
the  absorbing  interest  in  the  war,  the  excitements  and  distractions, 
the  sore  losses  and  bereavements,  had  long  interfered  with  mission- 
ary collections  and  hindered  all  church  operations.  Every  depart- 
ment of  the  work  was  crippled  for  the  lack  of  money.  Time  was 
needed  for  our  people  to  recover  their  strength  and  for  those  who 
had  been  separated  during  the  years  of  the  great  struggle  to  re-adjust 
themselves  to  one  another  and  to  the  work.  While  the  church  was 
in  this  crippled  state,  it  was  found  impossible  to  do  much  for  foreign 
missions,  and  so  the  Liberia  mission  failed. 

As  for  ]\Ir.  Weir,  he  quit  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  church 
and  joined  the  Congregationalists. 

The  Rev.  J.  C.  Armstrong's  mission  to  Turkey  had,  in  some 
respects,  a  sadder  history  than  the  Liberia  mission.  His  Southern 
birth  and  Southern  sympathies  involved  him  in  a  class  of  difficulties 
which  need  not  be  discussed.  He  was  sent  by  the  Lebanon  board, 
which  became  inoperative  before  Armstrong  had  been  in  Turkey 
twelve  months.  This  board  was  crippled  almost  to  its  death  before 
Armstrong  set  his  foot  on  Asiatic  soil. 

In  the  summer  of  i860,  supplied  with  numerous  letters  of  intro- 
duction, the  missionary  and  his  wife,  and  their  three-months-old 
babe  set  sail  from  New  York  in  the  Golden  Rule,  Captain  ]\Iayo. 
This  was  a  sail  ship,  bound  for  India  via  London.  It  was  over- 
laden, and  had  a  poor  crew,  though  a  good  captain. 

They  were  becalmed  for  a  week  near  the  banks  of  New  Found- 
land.  After  this,  late  one  night  when  they  were  under  full  sail, 
near  the  middle  of  the  Atlantic,  they  were  overtaken  by  a  sudden 
storm.  Every  sail  was  spread  when  the  hurricane  struck  them. 
The  ship  was  thrown  on  its  beam  ends,  and  when  the  captain  or- 
dered the  sails  to  be  furled,  he  found  the  crew  in  mutiny.  Not  a 
man  obeyed  the  order.  It  was  perhaps  due  to  this  mutiny  that  the 
watch  had  not  been  faithful  to  report  the  approaching  storm.  The 
captain,  however,  was  equal  to  the  emergency.  He  managed  by 
the  assistance  of  the  officers  to  capture  and  lock  up  the  crew,  and 
take  in  the  sails.  Presently  the  ship  was  found  to  be  leaking  rap- 
idly. The  pumps  were  resorted  to,  but  it  was  ascertained  that  the 
mutineers  had  intentionally  spoiled  them.     After  much  trouble  and 


444  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.         [Period  v. 

alarm,  the  pumps  were  repaired  and  ofiicers  and  passengers  were 
set  to  pumping;  but  in  spite  of  their  utmost  eflforts,  the  water 
gained  on  them.  Wild  alarm  now  reigned.  The  captain  said  that 
the  vessel  would  not  keep  afloat  fifteen  minutes  longer.  Death  was 
the  accepted  issue.  True,  there  might  be  some  faint  hope  of  escap- 
ing in  the  boats,  if  the  officers  could  manage  to  launch  them.  Be- 
fore this  was  undertaken,  however,  the  captain  remembered  that 
the  vessel  was  still  on  its  side,  and  that  the  leak  might  be  in  the 
side,  and  not  in  the  hull.  Instantly  he  called  every  body  to  aid  in 
righting  the  ship.  That  was  a  supreme  moment  of  peril  and  sus- 
pense. Should  all  the  time  remaining  be  spent  in  righting  the 
vessel,  and  the  leak  still  continue,  it  would  then  be  too  late  to 
lower  the  boats.  Every  energy  was  taxed  to  its  utmost,  and  the 
ship  was  righted.  It  was  then  found  that  the  leak  had  entirely 
ceased.  The  injury  was  in  the  side  of  the  ship,  above  the  water- 
line.  After  much  vigorous  pumping  they  succeeded  in  empt}-ing 
the  vessel  of  water,  and  finally  reached  London  in  safety. 

In  London,  the  missionaries  utilized  their  many  letters  of  intro- 
duction in  a  social  and  pleasant  manner.  Here,  too,  tidings  reached 
them  of  ' '  the  Syrian  massacre. ' '  This  was  a  trial  to  missionaries 
bound  for  Damascus.  The  different  missionary  societies  of  London 
advised  them  to  abandon  the  mission  to  Syria.  From  London  they 
went  to  Paris,  wdiere  they  again  made  pleasant  use  of  their  letters 
of  introduction.  From  France  they  sailed  on  a  French  steamer  to 
Constantinople.  They  came  in  sight  of  this  city  the  morning  of 
the  22d  of  September,  i860. 

Armstrong  says  that  he  had  from  his  boyhood  felt  a  special  call 
to  preach  to  the  Mohammedans,  and  when  he  reached  Constanti- 
nople, he  felt  as  if  his  life's  mission  lay  before  his  eyes.  Engaging 
boarding  with  the  Rev.  Wm.  Goodall,  D.  D. ,  the  missionaries  set  to 
work  immediately  to  study  the  Turkish  language.  After  six 
months  they  rented  a  house,  moved  into  it,  and  then  began  in  a 
small  way  to  work  among  their  neighbors.  In  the  meantime  they 
had  cultivated  the  acquaintance  of  all  the  Protestant  missionaries 
then  in  the  city. 

In  the  latter  part  of  the  year  i860,  a  delegation  from  Brusa,  a 
populous  city  seventy  miles  westward,  visited  the  missionaries  at 


Chapter  XLL]  MISSIONS.  445 

Constantinople.  This  delegation  represented  two  thousand  people 
who  had  revolted  from  the  Greek  church.  They  proposed  to  turn 
over  their  houses  of  worship,  membership,  and  other  interests  to 
any  Protestant  missionary  board  that  would  immediately  supply 
them  with  preaching.  Two  Protestant  preachers,  one  an  editor 
and  a  native  Greek,  proposed  to  Armstrong  that  they  three  should 
unite  and  form  a  Cumberland  Presbyterian  Presbytery,  and  take 
charge  of  this  work  in  Brusa.  Here  was  a  conflict  between  what 
seemed  a  clear  call  of  divine  Providence,  and  a  long-cherished  im- 
pression that  he  was  especially  called  to  work  for  the  Mohammed- 
ans. He  had  made  good  progress  in  the  Turkish  language,  but  he 
could  already  speak  modern  Greek. 

Two  things,  however,  were  necessary  in  order  to  carry  out  the 
Brusa  enterprise  —  authority  from  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian 
Board,  of  IMissions,  and  more  money.  If  the  two  Greek  preachers 
entered  the  work  with  him,  they,  as  well  as  he,  would  need  a  small 
advance  from  the  board.  He  wrote,  but  received  no  reply.  He 
waited  and  hoped  till  the  opportunity  was  gone  forever. 

There  were  other  similar  offers,  however,  from  the  Greeks — one 
from  the  islands  of  the  Greek  Archipelago,  but  they  were  all  de- 
clined. Armstrong  studied  several  languages  simultaneously  with 
the  Turkish.  Mrs.  Armstrong  studied  these  languages  with  her 
husband,  and  one  (Armenian)  which  he  did  not.  She  and  her  hus- 
band still  use  the  Turkish  language  in  their  family,  being  great 
admirers  of  that  conglomerate  tongue. 

When  the  war  grew  to  a  white  heat  in  America,  the  American 
missionaries  in  Constantinople  became  intensely  wrought  up  con- 
cerning the  war  issues  at  home,  Armstrong's*  position  became  per- 
ilous. His  supplies  from  America  were  all  cut  off.  His  political 
antecedents  prevented  him  from  obtaining  any  loans  from  the  other 
American  missionaries.  He  saw  before  him  no  prospect  but  starva- 
tion. He  says:  "  I  called  my  faithful  servant  and  his  wife,  and  told 
them  we  could  no  longer  afford  to  keep  a  servant;  they  would  have 
to  go."  He  then  had  prayers  with  them.  When  they  rose  after 
prayer,  the  man  said:  "God  do  so  to  me  and  more  also  if  we  leave 
thee."  He  then  ran  down  stairs  and  brought  up  his  earnings, 
am-ounting  to  a  hundred  dollars,  and  placed  the  money  in  Arm- 


44.6  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.         [reriod  v, 

strong's  hands.  This  kept  them  from  starvation  a  little  while 
longer.  Then  their  rent  was  due,  and  their  provisions  exhausted. 
The  landlord  gave  them  notice  to  vacate  the  house  in  twenty-four 
hours.  In  that  burning  heat  they  could  not  live  twenty-four  hours 
outside  of  shelter.  Human  help  there  was  none.  The  night  was 
spent  in  looking  to  a  higher  source  of  help.  The  next  morning 
there  was  a  vigorous  knocking  at  the  door.  They  supposed  their 
landlord  had  come  to  put  them  out,  but,  when  they  opened  the 
door  with  fear  and  trembling,  it  was  not  the  red  turban,  and  big 
breeches,  and  bloated  face  of  their  landlord  which  met  them,  but  a 
young  Frenchman  in  European  costume.  He  seemed  excited,  and 
handing  Armstrong  some  money,  said  hurriedly  that  the  Lord  had 
impressed  it  on  his  heart  in  the  night  that  Armstrong  was  in  want, 
and  had  sent  him  with  relief.  He  told  Armstrong  that  he  had  just 
seen  the  dreaded  landlord,  and  settled  the  rents  for  the  past,  and 
for  six  months  in  advance.  He  refused  to  give  his  name,  but  said, 
with  tears:  "I  belong  to  your  King;  never  doubt  that  a  gracious 
Lord  is  watching  over  you.  Good-bye."  From  that  day  to  this 
Armstrong  has  neither  seen  this  timely  messenger  nor  received  any 
tidings  from  him.  He  found  his  rent  all  paid,  as  the  Frenchman 
had  told  him. 

That  night  the  chaplain  of  the  British  embassy,  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Gribble,  came  and  loaned  Armstrong  some  money.  Next  day  ^Mr. 
Gribble  and  his  wife  called,  bringing  various  articles  which  the 
missionaries  greatly  needed.  By  invitation,  formally  made,  Arm- 
strong began  making  translations  for  the  seven  pastors  of  the  Re- 
formed Armenian  church,  who  about  that  time  had  declared  them- 
selves independent  of  the  American  Board,  and  set  up  an  organiza- 
tion of  their  own.  The  manuscripts  of  their  leader  were  a  mixed 
mass  of  English,  Turkish,  and  French,  as  confused  in  matter  as  in 
language.  They  desired  Armstrong  to  arrange  this  mass  in  one 
language,  and  from  it  to  formulate  their  system  of  theology  for 
them.  To  this  work  he  devoted  three  months,  and  when  he  had 
digested,  arranged,  and  translated  the  matter  placed  in  his  hands, 
he  found  it  to  be  a  system  of  doctrine  almost  identical  with  that 
taught  by  Cumberland  Presbyterians.  This  creed,  he  says,  is  no 
doubt  still  held  and  preached  by  these  oriental  pastors. 


Chapter  XLI.]  '  MISSIONS,  447 

Another  work  now  opened  up  for  our  missionary.  It  was  the 
translation  of  the  Scriptures  into  the  Roumanian  language.  He 
accepted  this  work,  and  expected  to  travel  to  the  capital  city  of 
Roumania.  Here  a  new  difficulty  met  him.  American  citizens 
who  were  suspected  of  rebel  sympathies  had  trouble  about  secur- 
ing passports.  Armstrong  took  Turkish  protection;  but  he  did 
not,  after  all,  embark  in  this  new  work,  or  need  his  Turkish  pass- 
port. An  attack  of  typhoid  fever  kept  him  in  Constantinople. 
The  illness  was  long  and  severe,  but  all  his  wants  were  supplied. 
The  missionaries  sat  up  with  him,  nursed  him,  and  when  he  was 
able  to  travel  loaned  him  money  to  the  amount  of  six  hundred  dol- 
lars to  come  home  on.  The  voyage  back  to  America  restored  his 
health  and  closed  his  missionary  career. 

His  wife  was  a  Canadian,  and  he  sailed  from  Asia  to  Canada, 
where  he  remained  teaching  school  until  after  the  close  of  the  war. 
He  greatly  longed  to  return  to  Asia,  but  the  way  has  never  been 
opened.  The  Board  of  Missions  at  Lebanon,  Tennessee,  when  it 
resumed  operations,  paid  off  the  debts  which  he  had  been  forced  to 
contract.  "God  sometimes  sends  his  servants  a  long  way  to  do 
what  seems  to  us  a  very  little  thing."  No  matter,  if  he  sends  us, 
it  will  all  be  right. 


SIXTH    PERIOD. 


CHAPTER   XLII. 


SEVERAL   GENERAL   ASSEMBLIES. 

Return  to  thy  fortress 

That  can  not  be  taken, 
And  rest  on  thy  rock 

That  no  earthquake  hath  shaken. 

— Anna  Ship  ton. 

THE  earthquake  was  past,  and  our  temple  stood  without  a 
rent  in  its  walls.  We  had  felt  the  shock  only  to  learn  new 
lessons  about  the  firmness  of  that  Rock  on  which  our  house  is 
builded.  After  1870  the  spirit  of  unity  and  fraternity  in  the  Cum- 
berland Presbyterian  church  grew  rapidly,  and  there  is  more  union 
of  heart  among  our  people  now  than  ever  before. 

The  General  Assembly  of  1871,  which  met  at  Nashville,  Ten- 
nessee, was  harmonious  and  full  of  hope.  The  quarterly  system 
of  collections  by  pastors,  which  had  been  suspended  for  one  year, 
was  by  this  Assembly  promptly,  and  with  great  unanimity,  restored. 

The  Assembly  of  1872,  at  Evansville,  Indiana,  appointed  a  day 
of  prayer  for  colleges,  and  called  on  the  whole  church  to  join  in  its 
observance.  The  great  want  of  the  church  was  men.  All  keenly 
felt  this  want;  and  the  struggle  to  train  men  for  their  work  in  the 
ministr}'  was  embarrassed  by  the  overwhelming  bankruptcy  of  all 
the  Southern  people.  Besides  this  general  bankruptcy,  which  sur- 
passed all  description,  there  was  in  the  Southern  States  a  sad  lack 
of  young  men.  Many  from  both  sections  who  had  been  the  hope 
of  church  and  State  were  sleeping  in  coffinless  graves  on  the 
m}-riad  battle-fields  of  the  civil  war.  Our  church  was  very  weak 
in  the  Northern  States,  and  the  hope  of  a  supply  of  recruits  for 
(44S) 


Chapter  XLII.]  SEVERAL  GENERAL  ASSEMBLIES.  449 

the  broken  ranks  of  the  ministry  was  but  faint.  Hitherto,  the 
most  of  our  preachers,  even  in  the  Northern  States,  had  come 
from  that  South  which  was  now  to  a  large  extent  demoralized  and 
in  ruins.  The  day  of  prayer  was  well  timed  and  was  generally 
observed,  and  as  the  histor>'  of  our  colleges  will  show,  it  was  not 
observed  in  vain. 

At  this  Assembly  the  announcement  was  officially  made  of  the 
death  of  the  Rev.  Milton  Bird,  D.D.,  the  stated  clerk.  Dr.  Bird 
is  one  of  those  characters  that  will  grow  in  our  esteem  as  the  years 
sweep  away  and  all  littleness  and  party  prejudices  die  out.  He 
belonged  to  no  section,  no  party;  and  because  he  would  not  bow 
down  and  worship  at  any  partisan  shrine,  the  true  grandeur  of  his 
soul  was  not  appreciated  in  the  days  of  mad  partisan  extremes. 
Ruling  Elder  John  Frizzell  was  elected  stated  clerk  in  Dr.  Bird's 
place.  Mr.  Frizzell  had  special  adaptedness  to  this  work,  and  the 
announcement  that  he  could  be  secured  to  fill  this  vacancy  gave 
universal  satisfaction. 

This  Assembly  warned  our  churches  and  people  against  bad 
books.  Most  of  the  session  was  occupied  in  considering  the 
revised  Form  of  Government,  which  had  long  been  under  dis- 
cussion, and  which,  after  three  references  to  the  presbyteries,  was 
at  last  laid  on  the  table  indefinitely. 

The  Assembly  of  1873  was  held  at  Huntsville,  Alabama.  One 
matter  of  special  interest  came  before  this  body.  Dr.  A.  J.  Baird, 
who  had  been  sent  as  corresponding  delegate  to  the  General  Assem- 
bly of  the  Northern  Presbyterian  church,  in  session  at  Baltimore, 
Maryland,  telegraphed  that  a  committee  to  consider  organic  union 
with  Cumberland  Presbyterians  had,  at  his  request,  been  appointed 
by  the  Presbyterian  Assembly,  and  he  asked  our  Assembly  if  it 
would  appoint  a  similar  committee.  Dr.  Baird  had,  on  his  own 
responsibility,  made  this  proposition,  and  the  Presbyterian  Assem- 
bly had  acted  on  it.  Our  Assembly  appointed  the  committee  asked 
for,  and  thus  another  fruitless  movement  looking  toward  organic 
union  was  inaugurated. 

The  two  committees  thus  appointed  had  a  very  pleasant  and 
fraternal  conference  at  Nashville,  Tennessee,  beginning  February 
25th,  1874,  and  continuing  through  the  next  day.  The  members 
29 


450  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  vi. 

of  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  committee  present  were  Drs. 
Richard  Beard,  J.  B.  Mitchell,  A.  J.  Baird,  and  A.  B.  Miller. 
Among  the  members  of  the  Presbyterian  committee  were  Drs.  H. 
A.  Nelson,  of  Cincinnati,  Ohio;  Joseph  T.  Smith,  of  Baltimore, 
Maryland;  and  Charles  A.  Dickey,  of  St.  Louis,  Missouri.  But 
in  this  case,  as  in  the  conference  at  Memphis  six  years  before  with 
the  committee  of  the  Southern  branch  of  the  Presbyterian  church, 
the  only  basis  of  union  submitted  by  the  Presbyterians  was  the 
Westminster  Confession  of  Faith.  In  the  Nashville  conference 
the  Presbyterians  did  not  even  promise  to  submit  to  their  Assem- 
bly the  plan  of  union  proposed  by  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian 
committee,  but  recommended  that  negotiations  should  be  con- 
tinued. As  in  the  conference  at  Memphis,  so  at  Nashville  the 
Cumberland  Presbyterian  committee  went  to  great  lengths  in  try- 
ing to  devise  a  plan  upon  which  the  two  churches  could  unite. 
The  plan  proposed  in  the  latter  case  was  as  follows: 

We,  the  committee  on  the  part  of  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian 
church,  submit  the  following'  as  a  basis  of  union  between  our  church 
and  the  Presbyterian  church  here  represented: 

1.  That  both  Confessions  of  Faith  shall  be  retained  as  they  are,  and 
shall  be  regarded  as  of  equal  authority  as  standards  of  evangelical  doc- 
trine; and  hereafter  in  the  licensure  of  candidates,  and  in  the  ordination 
of  ministers  or  other  officers  of  the  church,  or  on  any  other  occasion 
when  it  shall  be  necessary  to  adopt  a  Confession  of  Faith,  it  shall  be 
left  to  the  choice  of  the  individual  as  to  which  of  these  he  shall  adopt. 

2.  That  the  Form  of  Government  and  Discipline  of  the  Presbyte- 
rian church  shall  be  the  Form  of  Government  and  Discipline  of  the 
united  church. 

3.  That  the  united  church  shall  be  known  as  the  Presbyterian 
church  of  the  United  States  of  America. 

The  impression  went  abroad  that  the  joint  committee  had 
agreed  to  this  plan  of  union,  and  such  an  impression  prevailed 
among  the  members  of  the  next  Cumberland  Presbyterian  Assem- 
bly; but  neither  the  published  records  of  the  joint  committee  nor 
the  original  manuscript  minutes  of  its  meetings  justify  any  such 
conclusion. 

To  the  plan  of  union  proposed  by  our  committee  the  Presbyte- 
rian committee  responded  in  these  words: 


Chapter  XLII]  SEVERAL   GENERAL   ASSEMBLIES.  45I 

The  committee  on  the  part  of  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Presby- 
terian church  having  considered  the  paper  presented  b}'  our  brethren, 
cordially  respond: 

1.  That  this  paper  and  our  familiar  conference  of  this  morning  con- 
firm the  impressions  and  hopes  indicated  in  our  pievious  paper,  and 
our  desire  for  the  continued  and  increased  intercourse,  co-operation, 
and  united  prayer  of  the  ministers  and  people  of  both  churches  which 
that  paper  recommends. 

2.  That  in  our  judgment  it  is  desirable  that  such  intercourse  be  con- 
tinued, and  the  mutual  acquaintance  of  the  two  churches  become  more 
extensive  and  intimate  before  their  General  Assemblies  shall  be  called 
upon  to  act  upon  any  plan  of  union. 

3.  That  in  submitting  the  proceedings  of  this  joint  committee  to 
our  respective  Assemblies  we  recommend  the  appointment  of  a  joint 
committee  for  continued  conference  and  for  promoting  intercourse  and 
acquaintance  between  the  two  bodies  during  the  next  year. 

The  one  thing  which  the  joint  committee  agreed  upon  was  that 
the  negotiations  should  be  continued.  This  was  the  only  question 
connected  with  this  matter  which  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian 
Assembly  of  1874,  at  Springfield,  Missouri,  was  called  upon  to 
decide.  The  discussion  of  this  subject,  however,  which  was  not 
free  from  ill-feeling,  took  a  far  wider  range.  The  Assembly 
finally  adopted  a  resolution  which,  without  expressing  any  opinion 
on  the  proposed  plan  of  union,  declared  it  inexpedient  to  continue 
the  negotiations.  This  forestalled  the  action  of  the  Presbyterian 
Assembly,  and  the  whole  matter  was  dropped. 

There  are  two  false  ideas  that  ought  never  again  to  deceive  us 
or  our  Presbyterian  brethren.  One  is  the  hope  on  their  part  that 
our  people  will  sometime  adopt  unchanged  the  Westminster  Con- 
fession of  Faith.  The  other  is  the  belief  among  Cumberland 
Presbyterians  that  Presbyterians  are  ready  to  accept  our  doctrinal 
platform.  Both  parties  are  honest  and  conscientious,  and  so  long 
as  there  exist  such  important  differences  in  doctrinal  views,  they 
can  work  with  more  harmony  and  love  in  separate  ecclesiastical 
organizations.  The  union  which  Christ  prayed  for  is  not  an  out- 
ward visible  union,  else  we  would  all  be  driven  back  into  the 
Roman  Catholic  church.  Outward  union  is  vain  and  woirthless 
when  union  of  heart  and  spirit  do  not  accompany  it.  Union  of 
heart  often  binds  Christians  of  different  churches  closer  together 


452  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  vi. 

than  brothers  of  the  same  family.  We  should  cultivate  this  lov- 
ing spirit,  and  wait  till  God's  providence  prepares  the  way  for  out- 
ward oneness.  We  can  cordially  co-operate  in  promoting  such 
preparation,  but  we  can  not  force  it. 

All  the  propositions  made  by  Presbyterians  for  conference  about 
union  with  Cumberland  Presbyterians  have  contained  evidence 
that  the  union  to  be  taken  into  consideration  was,  according  to  the 
Presbyterian  view,  to  be  on  the  basis  of  the  Westminster  standards. 
Thus  the  Presbyterian  Assembly  (Southern),  in  appointing  a  com- 
mittee to  meet  a  similar  committee  from  our  church,  used  this 
language : 

In  practically  carrying  out  this  idea  [viz.,  of  a  union],  the  Assem- 
bly, laying  aside  ecclesiastical  etiquette,  would  affectionately  say  to  their 
brethren  of  the  Associate  Reformed  Synod,  that  they  may  pull  the 
latch-string  of  our  dwelling  whenever  they  may  choose,  and  may  be 
incorporated  with  us  upon  the  simple  adoption  of  our  standards,  when- 
ever these  may  happen  to  differ  from  their  own;  and  to  our  brethren 
of  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  church,  we  respectfully  suggest 
whether  the  time  has  not  come  to  consider  the  great  importance  to  the 
kingdom  of  our  common  Master  of  their  union  with  us  by  the  adoption 
of  the  time-honored  standards  to  which  we  adhere. 

In  the  conference  with  the  committee  of  the  Southern  branch 
of  the  Presbyterian  church  their  only  proposition  was  that  we 
should  take  the  Westminster  Confession  unchanged.  In  the  con- 
ference with  the  representatives  of  the  other  branch  of  the  Pres- 
byterian church  six  or  seven  years  afterward,  nothing  was  offered 
our  committee  but  the  Westminster  Confession  unchanged.  In  a 
movement  originated  by  individuals  in  California,  the  Presbyterian 
synod  on  the  Pacific  coast  proposed  that  the  Cumberland  Presbyte- 
rian synod  be  consolidated  with  it  on  the  basis  of  the  Westmin- 
ster Confession  unchanged.  What  ground  individual  members  of 
our  church  gave  our  dear  Presbyterian  brethren  to  encourage  them 
to  make  such  offers  is  an  inquiry  whose  investigation  would  not 
be  for  our  edification. 

The  Assembly  of  1874  was  rendered  memorable  by  the  visit  of 
Dr.  James  Morrison  and  Dr.  Fergus  Ferguson,  corresponding  dele- 
gates from  the  Evangelical  Union  Church  of  Scotland.  The  pro- 
found scholarship  of  Dr.  Morrison  made  him  a  fitting  companion 


Chapter  XLII.]         SEVERAL  GENERAL  ASSEMBLIES.  453 

for  Dr.  Beard,  and  it  was  interesting  to  see  how  these  two  scholars 
' '  took  to  each  other. ' ' 

Ferguson  is  a  genial,  witty  man,  and  a  thorough  Scotchman. 
A  preacher  who  had  been  chaplain  in  the  Southern  army  was  Fer- 
guson's room-mate.  General  Holland,  at  whose  house  they  were 
quartered,  had  been  a  commander  in  the  Northern  army.  The 
two  army  men  became  warm  friends  at  their  first  meeting,  and 
they  showed  great  fondness  for  talking  over  war  experiences.  Fer- 
guson listened  in  amazement.  At  last  he  broke  forth  with  his 
strong  Scotch  accent:  "I  don't  understand  it,  General.  Just  a 
little  while  ago  he  was  preaching  to  the  soldiers,  and  you  were 
shooting  at  him.  Nowhere  you  both  are  cheek  by  jowl  together, 
like  the  best  friends  in  the  world."  Yes,  and  the  best  friends  in 
the  world  they  are  still,  whether  a  Scotchman  can  understand  it  or 
not.  But  they  are  not  any  warmer  friends  to  each  other  than  they 
both  are  to  that  quaint,  original,  genial  son  of  Caledonia,  who 
published  a  pleasant  little  book  about  his  trip  to  Springfield. 

The  custom  of  sending  corresponding  delegates  to  bear  frater- 
nal greetings  to  General  Assemblies  and  conferences  was  then  at 
its  zenith.  For  fourteen  years  it  had  been  growing.  The  churches 
which  generally  had  representatives  on  the  floor  of  our  Assembly 
were  the  Presbyterian  (both  branches),  the  Lutheran,  the  Evangel- 
ical Union,  the  Colored  Cumberland  Presbyterian,  the  Congrega- 
tional, and  sometimes  others. 

The  address  of  the  Rev.  J.  S.  Hays,  corresponding  delegate 
from  the  Presbyterian  church  in  the  United  States  of  America 
to  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  Assembly  of  1874,  is  here  pre- 
sented: 

For  two  reasons  no  service  could  be  more  agreeable  to  me  than  that 
of  being  the  bearer  to  you  of  the  Christian  salutations  of  that  branch 
of  the  church  to  which  I  belong.  In  the  first  place,  after  observing 
the  spirit  and  temper  of  my  church  toward  you  as  manifested  in  our 
General  Assembly  one  year  ago,  I  am  able  to  present  these  greetings 
without  a  single  misgiving  as  to  the  sincerity  and  cordiality  of  those  for 
whom  I  speak.  And  then  the  old  animosities  that  were  engendered 
by  the  separation  which  took  place  before  we  were  born  have  all  been 
happily  buried  and  forgotten.  There  is  but  little  diversity  and  much  in 
common   in  our  history  and  doctrines  and  discipline.     We  serve  the 


454  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  vi. 

same  Master  and  fight  against  the  same  enemy  in  the  hojoe  of  the  same 
glorious  reward. 

In  a  communication  received  by  tlie  Presbyterian  General  Assem- 
bly a  year  ago,  you  were  pleased  to  speak  of  us  as  the  mother  church. 
I  am  happy  to  reciprocate  the  compliment  and  assure  you,  in  return,  of 
the  mother's  great  pride  in  recognizing  her  daughter.  It  is  true,  I  pre- 
sume, that  some  of  our  very  proper  people  regard  the  daughter  in  her 
religious  enjoyments  sometimes  as  a  little  demonstrative,  as  possibly 
some  of  your  more  demonstrative  people  regard  the  mother  as  a  little 
too  sedate.  It  is  also  true,  perhaps,  that  some  of  our  very  orthodox 
people  regard  your  belief  as  a  little  flexible,  as  doubtless  some  of  your 
flexible  people  regard  the  mother  a  little  rigid.  Such  difterences  we 
may  expect,  but  I  assure  you  that  there  is  on  our  part  a  deep,  strong 
current  of  respect,  affection,  and  love  such  as  a  mother  feels  for  her 
child. 

When  your  representative.  Dr.  A,  J.  Baird,  one  year  ago  in  our 
General  Assembly,  expressed  a  desire  for  the  formation  of  a  stronger 
boad  of  union  between  us — a  desire,  indeed,  for  organic  union  if  it 
could  be  satisfactorily^  accomplished — his  words  were  met  in  our  As- 
sembly with  a  round  of  applause,  the  meaning  of  which  it  was  impos- 
sible to  misunderstand.  Upon  the  spot  and  without  a  dissenting  voice 
a  committee  was  appointed  to  meet  and  confer  with  a  similar  commit- 
tee from  your  own  body  for  the  purpose  of  ascertaining  if  such  a  union 
could  be  effected.  We  have  not  yet  heard  the  report  of  that  commit- 
tee; but  it  is  understood  that  it  was  only  a  royal  courtship,  not  a  wed- 
ding nor  an  engagement  for  a  wedding.  Perhaps  the  committees  were 
right  about  it.  We  have  had  a  wedding  of  that  sort  in  our  house  re- 
cently. There  are  those  among  us — and  I  am  free  to  confess  that  I  am 
one  of  them — who  have  never  been  able  to  see  any  indispensable 
necessity  for  organic  union  in  order  to  genuine  co-operation  and  the 
most  cordial  fraternal  relations.  I  understand  that  many  of  you  hold 
the  same  opinion. 

Now,  what  sort  of  unity  in  the  church  of  Christ  would  be  pro- 
ductive of  the  greatest  amount  of  efficiency  and  fraternity,  is  a  question 
that  can  not  be  passed  over  lightly  or  easily  by  our  corresponding  com- 
mittees. No  more  important  or  delicate  question  is  now  before  the 
church.  However  it  may  be  settled,  I  am  sure  that  there  is  a  deep  and 
wide- spread  desire  in  my  own  church  for  some  such  organic  union  as 
that  which  was  suggested  to  you  by  the  memorial  of  Drs.  Crosb}',  Mc- 
Cosh,  and  others  in  regard  to  union  among  Presbyterians.  For  such  a 
union,  especially  with  your  church,  we  are  ready  to  labor  and  pray.  If 
at  any  future  time  a  full  organic  union  can  be  effected  on  terms  alike 
honorable  and  agreeable  to  all,  we  will  thoroughly  rejoice.     If  not,  we 


Chapter  XLII.]  SEVERAI.  GENERAL  ASSEMBLIES.  455 

will  still  stand  side  by  side  and  shoulder  to  shoulder  with  you  in  the 
strife  against  evil,  and  we  will  defer  our  little  differences  about  election 
and  other  matters  until  we  pass  beyond  the  vale  and  sit  at  the  feet  of 
Jesus,  where  we  will  enjoy  better  instruction  than  that  which  we  now 
receive  from  the  lips  of  a  Beard  or  a  Hodge. 

I  was  intensely  interested  yesterday  in  hearing  your  educational  and 
missionaiy  reports  read.  With  many  of  the  statements  I  was  highly 
gratified,  and  when  I  make  my  report  to  my  own  General  Assembly  I 
shall  try  to  convey  to  them  the  same  impression  that  was  made  upon 
my  mind  while  I  listened. 

When  we,  as  Presbyterians,  look  out  upon  this  broad  land  and  ob- 
serve the  millions  that  are  swarming  into  it,  and  when  we  look  out 
upon  the  broader  field,  which  is  the  world,  and  hear  the  cries  that  come 
to  us  for  help  which  it  is  impossible  for  us  to  give,  it  is  with  the  pro- 
foundest  interest  that  we  watch  the  increasing  strength  and  hail  the 
rising  power  of  vigorous  young  churches  like  your  own,  marching 
under  the  same  banner,  calling  themselves  by  the  same  name,  and  pro- 
claiming substantially  the  same  faith. 

Laying  upon  your  table  the  minutes  of  our  last  General  Assembly, 
in  which  you  will  see  an  exhibit  of  our  present  condition  and  future 
prospects,  permit  me  to  close  as  I  commenced,  by  tendering  to  you  the 
fraternal  greetings  and  the  cordial  sympathies  of  the  Presbyterian 
church  in  the  United  States  of  America. 

The  Presbyterian  church  (Old  School)  sent  its  first  delegate  to 
the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  General  Assembly  in  i860.  Dele- 
gates came  regularly  after  that.  By  and  by  the  churches  generally 
concluded  to  convey  these  fraternal  greetings  by  letter,  and  not 
send  delegates  in  person.  Only  the  colored  Cumberland  Presbyte- 
rians now  send  corresponding  delegates  to  our  Assembly,  and  there 
exist  special  reasons  in  their  case  for  still  keeping  up  the  old 
custom. 

The  Assembly  of  1875  met  at  Jefferson,  Texas.  An  interesting 
item  in  the  business  of  this  meeting  was  the  presentation  to  the 
Assembly,  by  Joseph  W.  Allen,  of  Nashville,  of  an  elegant  gavel, 
made  from  wood  which  grew  on  the  McAdow  farm  near  the  spot 
where  the  first  Cumberland  Presbyterian  presbytery  was  organized. 

The  Assembly  of  1876  met  at  Bowling  Green,  Kentucky;  that 
of  1877  at  Lincoln,  Illinois.  At  the  Assembly  of  1878,  which  was 
held  at  Lebanon,  Tennessee,  Caruthers  Hall,  one  of  the  buildings 
of  Cumberland  University,  was  dedicated. 


456  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  vi. 

The  Assembly  of  1879,  at  Memphis,  Tennessee,  introduced  one 
new  feature.  It  set  apart  a  whole  day  for  the  discussion  of  topics 
connected  with  Sunday-schools.  In  actual  Sunday-school  work 
our  people  were  doing  far  too  little,  and  though  we  have  since 
then  made  decided  improvement,  }'et  the  statistical  report  for  1886 
shows  only  a  little  over  half  as  many  Sunday-school  scholars  as 
members  of  the  church.  Not  until  1883  was  it  decided  to  have  a 
general  superintendent  of  Sunday-schools  for  the  whole  church. 
Dr.  M.  B.  DeWitt  was  elected  to  this  office,  but  as  no  provisions 
were  made  for  his  salary,  and  as  his  time  was  fully  employed  with 
his  duties  as  a  pastor,  he  was  unable  to  devote  himself  to  this 
work.  He  resigned  in  1886.  The  Rev.  J.  H.  Warren,  his  suc- 
cessor, has  done  good  service,  collecting  many  valuable  statis- 
tics and  preparing  the  way  for  a  greater  work  in  the  future.  One 
collection  each  year  from  all  the  congregations  in  the  church,  to  be 
taken  up  on  a  Sunday  designated  as  "Children's  Day,"  is  hereafter 
to  be  devoted  to  the  payment  of  the  salary  of  the  general  superin- 
tendent and  the  support  of  Sunday-school  interests. 

Dr.  E.  D.  Morris,  corresponding  delegate  from  the  Presbyterian 
church  (Northern),  delivered  an  address  in  the  Cumberland  Pres- 
byterian Assembly  of  1879,  at  Memphis,  Tennessee,  which  for 
sound  sense  and  a  rare  combination  of  unflinching  fidelity  to  his 
own  church,  along  with  the  noblest  liberality  toward  others,  is 
deserving  of  special  mention.  While  he  called  in  question  the 
wisdom  of  any  attempt  to  unite  all  Presbyterians  in  one  organic 
body,  and  expressed  doubts  about  the  utility  of  such  large  bodies 
even  were  they  one  in  faith,  calling  them  "too  unwieldy  to  be 
efficient,  too  proud  to  be  endured,"  he  yet  declared  it  desirable  for 
all  Presbyterians  to  ' '  think  less  about  their  differences  and  more 
of  their  vital  points  of  agreement  in  doctrine  and  order." 

The  Assembly  of  1880  was  held  at  Evansville,  Indiana,  and  by 
a  sort  of  averaging  of  dates  it  was  agreed  to  celebrate  this  as  its 
semi-centennial  meeting.  Our  first  Assembly  was  organized  in 
1829,  but  there  had  been  two  years  in  which  no  Assembly  met. 
This  semi-centennial  celebration  called  forth  numerous  historical 
addresses.  These  were  published  in  a  neat  little  pamphlet  pre- 
pared by  the  stated  clerk,  the  Hon.  John  Frizzell. 


Chapter  XLIL]  SEVERAI^  GENERAL   ASSEMBLIES.  457 

The  Woman's  Board  of  Foreign  Missions  was  organized  at  this 
meeting.  While  there  had  been  suggestions  and  resolutions  look- 
ing toward  such  an  organization  years  before,  such  propositions 
had  until  iSSo  ended  in  words  yielding  no  positive  results.  Our 
missionaries  in  Japan  at  last  kept  the  subject  ringing  in  the  ears 
of  our  people,  and  Dr.  W.  J.  Darby,  of  Evansville,  helped  to  press 
the  matter  until  the  organization  became  an  accomplished  fact. 
This  board  was  located  at  Evansville,  Indiana.  Just  as  soon  as 
it  was  organized,  a  young  lady  from  Missouri  offered  herself  as 
a  missionary  to  go  to  Japan,  and  was  accepted.  No  part  of  our 
ecclesiastical  machinery  works  more  successfully  or  yields  larger 
results  of  good  than  this  board  with  its  numerous  auxiliaries  and 
children's  bands.  Its  annual  receipts  have  increased  from  a  little 
over  $2,000  for  the  first  year,  to  almost  $6,800  for  the  year  ending 
May,  1887.  It  has  now  five  missionaries  in  Japan.  It  has  estab- 
lished a  school  for  the  education  of  Japanese  girls.  It  also  assists 
in  mission  work  in  Mexico  and  among  the  Indians,  and  is  steadily 
extending  its  operations  and  influence. 

The  first  Cumberland  Presbyterian  Board  of  Missions  ever 
organized  (1818)  was  a  woman's  board,  and  at  different  times 
there  were  local  boards  of  the  same  character.  One  such  organ- 
ization is  mentioned  in  the  following  letter  found  in  the  Watch- 
man and  Evangelist^  a  Cumberland  Presbyterian  paper  published 
at  Louisville,  Kentucky,  thirty  years  ago: 

Lebanon,  Tenn.,  November  25,  1857. 
Mr.  Editor — I  am  pleased  to  read  in  your  paper — nay,  the  expres- 
sion does  not  do  justice  to  my  feelings — I  am  delighted,  overjoyed,  at 
the  movement  of  the  ladies,  members  of  our  church  in  your  city.  In- 
deed, they  have  set  a  noble  example,  which  I  trust  may  be  followed  by 
the  ladies  of  many  other  churches.  "A  female  foreign  missionary  soci- 
ety "  according  to  the  plan  of  that  lately  formed  in  Louisville,  and  for 
the  object  there  specified,  as  well  as  other  similar  objects  which  will 
doubtless  be  presented,  might  be  formed  in  every  congregation.  This 
would  reioice  pious  hearts,  be  approved  by  the  great  Head  of  the 
church,  and,  being  crowned  with  the  divine  blessing,  might  accomplish 
results  the  extent  and  glory  of  which  eternity  alone  would  reveal. 
What  is  more  natural  than  to  see  the  followers  of  Jesus  Christ  laboring 
to  advance  the  great  object  on  which  his  heart  is  set  ?  As  workers 
together  with  him,  and  loving  him  who  has  loved  them  and  saved  them 


458  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  vi. 

from  sin  and  the  wrath  to  come,  it  is  to  be  expected  that  they  will  de- 
sire to  please  him  and  exert  themselves  to  save  those  for  whom  he  shed 
his  precious  blood.  The  Savior,  it  is  true,  is  able  to  convert  the  world 
without  human  instrumentalities;  but  it  has  pleased  him  to  employ  his 
people  in  the  glorious  work.  The  church  is  the  grand  instrument  by 
the  labors  and  sacrifices  of  which  the  Son  of  God  is  to  have  the 
heathen  for  an  inheritance  and  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth  for  a 
possession.  F.  R.  Cossitt. 

The  custom  of  organizing  and  maintaining  sucli  societies  had 
fallen  into  neglect.  The  Assembly's  action  in  1880  gave  it  new 
form  and  new  life. 

Growing  out  of  a  resolution  presented  to  the  General  Assembly 
of  1880,  which  was  referred  to  the  standing  committee  on  fraternal 
relations,  a  correspondence  sprung  up  on  the  subject  of  organic 
union  with  the  Evangelical  Lutheran  church.  Committees  were 
appointed,  but  they  did  not  meet  for  a  joint  conference.  The  cor- 
respondence between  the  Rev.  F.  Springer,  D.  D. ,  chairman  of  the 
Lutheran  committee,  and  the  Rev.  J.  P.  Sprowls,  D.D.,  chairman 
of  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  committee,  developed  the  fact  that 
while  both  churches  desired  closer  and  more  hearty  fraternal  rela- 
tions, neither  of  them  was  ready  for  organic  union.' 

By  the  Assembly  of  1881,  which  met  at  Austin,  Texas,  meas- 
ures of  far-reaching  significance  were  adopted.  The  constitution 
of  the  Presbyterian  Alliance  was  approved,  and  "our  Confession 
of  Faith  was  submitted  as  indicating  our  harmony  with  the  Con- 
sensus of  the  Reformed  Confessions."  Committees  were  appointed 
to  revise  the  Confession  of  Faith.  The  Board  of  Ministerial  Re- 
lief was  organized.  The  national  council  of  the  Cherokee  Indians 
was  memorialized  to  set  apart  lands  for  a  Cumberland  Presbyterian 
mission  school.  A  memorial  page  in  the  Assembl}''s  Minutes 
was  set  apart  to  the  memory  of  Dr.  Richard  Beard.  This  was 
the  first  time  in  the  history  of  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  church 
that  such  a  tribute  was  paid  to  one  of  its  members.  A  similar 
memorial  has  since  been  accorded  to  the  Hon.  R.  L.  Caruthers. 

The  next  Assembly,  1882,  which  met  at  Huntsville,  Alabama, 
elected  delegates  to  the  General  Presbyterian  Alliance,  leaving  that 

'  See  Minutes  of  General  Assembly,  1S80,  p.  38;  1882,  pp.  30, 96;  1SS3,  pp.  30,  31. 


Chapter  XLIL]         SEVERAL  GENERAL  ASSEMBLIES.  459 

council  to  decide  concerning  the  harmony  or  want  of  harmony  of 
the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  creed  with  the  Consensus  of  the  Re- 
formed Confessions.  A  new  committee  to  co-operate  wath  the  col- 
ored Cumberland  Presbyterians  in  establishing  and  endowing  a 
school  was  appointed. 

This  Assembly  spent  most  of  its  sessions  in  considering  the 
proposed  new  Confession  of  Faith,  which  was  submitted  to  it  by 
the  committees  appointed  the  year  before.  After  thoroughly  re- 
viewing the  work  of  the  committees,  and  making  various  changes 
and  amendments,  this  General  Assembly  approved  the  revised 
book  and  transmitted  it  to  the  presbyteries  for  their  action. 

At  the  Assembly  of  1883,  held  at  Nashville,  Tennessee,  it  was 
announced  that  one  hundred  of  the  one  hundred  and  sixteen  pres- 
byteries had  approved  this  revised  Confession.  In  sixty-one  pres- 
byteries the  vote  was  unanimous,  and  in  seven  there  was  but  one 
dissenting  voice.  One  presbytery  protested  against  the  revision; 
a  majority  in  nine  presbyteries  voted  against  its  adoption ;  three  did 
not  report,  and  three  presented  memorials  suggesting  changes  or 
asking  postponement.  The  new  ' '  Constitution  and  Rules  of  Dis- 
cipline," and  the  "General  Regulations,  Directory  for  Worship, 
and  Rules  of  Order"  were  approved  by  one  hundred  and  six  of  the 
presbyteries.  The  General  Assembly  then  declared  that  "the  Con- 
fession of  Faith  and  Government  of  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian 
church  had  been  constitutionally  changed,"  and  that  the  revised 
Confession  should  thereafter  "be  of  binding  authority  upon  the 
churehes." 

In  1883  the  Hon.  John  Frizzell,  stated  clerk,  resigned,  and  T.  C. 
Blake,  D.D.,  was  appointed  in  his  place.  The  Assembly  of  1884, 
which  met  at  McKeesport,  Pennsylvania,  chose  Mr.  Frizzell  as 
its  moderator,  he  being  the  first  ruling  elder  ever  elected  to  that 
position. 

At  the  next  Assembly,  which  convened  at  Bentonville,  Arkan- 
sas, after  the  opening  sermon,  which  was  preached  by  J.  M.  Gill, 
D.D.,  Mr.  Frizzell,  on  retiring  from  the  moderator's  chair,  delivered 
an  address  abounding  in  valuable  suggestions  about  the  business 
affairs  of  the  Assembly.  He  took  strong  ground  in  favor  of  some 
provisions  for  regulating  the  work  of  evangelists,  condemning  all 


460  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.      [Period  vi. 

that  class  of  lay  evangelism  which  is  under  no  regular  ecclesiastical 
ajjpointment. 

At  different  times  in  this  period,  as  well  as  in  former  periods, 
the  General  Assembly  bore  strong  testimony  against  card  playing, 
theater  going,  and  dancing.  The  language  of  one  deliverance  on 
dancing  was  as  follows: 

Rcsohed,  by  this  General  Assembly,  as  expressed  by  former  Assem- 
blies, That  the  practice  of  promiscuous  dancing  as  an  amusement  by 
professed  Christians,  as  well  as  attendance  upon  such  places  of  amuse- 
ment, is  hereby  declared  to  be  inconsistent  with  Christian  profession 
and  the  pure  and  sacred  obhgations  of  our  holy  religion;  and  that  pres- 
byteries and  church  sessions  are  advised  that  members  persisting  in 
such  a  practice  are  proper  subjects  of  church  discipUne. 

The  meaning  of  "promiscuous"  dancing  was  discussed  at  the 
time,  and  was  defined  to  be  dancing  in  which  both  sexes  participate. 

In  1874  the  Board  of  Publication  bought  the  Banner  of  Peace 
for  $10,000,  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  for  $13,000,  and  the 
Texas  Cumberland  Presbyterian  for  $2,500,  filling  out  the  unex- 
pired subscriptions  of  each.  The  Sunday  -  school  Gem  and  the 
TJicological  Medium  had  been  purchased  in  1872.  All  the  weekly 
papers  were  consolidated  under  the  name  of  the  Cumberland  Pres- 
byterian. The  consolidated  organ  was  located  at  Nashville,  and 
the  Rev.  J.  R.  Brown,  D.D,,  was  appointed  editor. 

The  Board  of  Ministerial  Relief,  though  not  organized  until 
1881,  has  done  valuable  work  in  providing  for  the  wants  of  men 
who  have  worn  their  lives  out  in  half-paid  labors  for  the  church. 
The  self-sacrificing  services  of  these  veteran  soldiers  of  the  Cross 
have  been  worth  a  thousand  times  more  than  all  the  pay  they  ever 
received  or  can  ever  receive  from  man.  This  board  was  located  at 
Evansville,  Indiana.  The  Rev.  W.  J.  Darby,  pastor  of  the  Cum- 
berland Presbyterian  church  in  that  city,  was  the  prime  mover  in 
securing  its  organization.  Articles  of  corporation  were  obtained 
for  it  in  October,  1881.  Its  receipts  during  the  first  year  were  less 
than  $600.  Its  total  receipts  for  the  3'ear  ending  ]\Iay,  1887,  were 
nearly  $5,500.  It  has  a  permanent  fund  of  $3,500.  The  number 
of  persons  receiving  aid  has  increased  from  four,  who  were  helped 
during  the  first  year,  to  forty-three  now  on  the  roll  of  beneficiaries. 


Chapter  XLIL]         SEVERAI.   GENERAL  ASSEMBUES.  461 

The  boards  of  the  church  all  made  good  progpress  in  this  period. 
The  Board  of  Publication,  through  the  aid  of  contributions  from 
the  churches,  paid  off  the  immense  debt  created  by  purchasing 
papers  and  periodicals  published  by  individuals,  as  well  as  all  the 
debts  for  presses  and  fixtures.  It  also  gave,  by  order  of  the  Assem- 
bly, one  thousand  dollars  to  meet  expenses  incurred  in  connection 
with  the  revision  of  the  Confession  of  Faith. 

The  new  books  written  and  published  by  ministers  or  members 
of  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  church  in  this  period  are  not 
numerous.  The  themes  of  the  volumes  issued  are  theological, 
biographical,  educational,  and  practical.  No  devotional  books 
have  made  their  appearance.  There  is  a  wide  gap  here  for  our 
writers  to  fill.  Tracts  that  will  strengthen  and  build  up  church 
members  in  Christian  life  are  greatly  needed.  One  little  book  to 
guide  disciples  in  the  Christian  life — "Lights  on  the  Way,"  by 
Dr.  J.  R.  Brown — was  issued  in  1879.  The  work  of  publishing 
Sunday-school  books  has  made  some  little  progress.  A  few  relig- 
ious stories  constitute  the  principal  additions.  Works  to  guide  the 
young  unto  salvation,  to  train  hearts  in  love  to  Jesus,  to  develop 
the  Christian  life,  to  foster  faith,  and  build  up  souls  in  real  conse- 
cration— not  works  to  fascinate  by  questionable  fictions — are  what 
our  Sunday-schools  need.  Such  books  are  likely  to  find  the  largest 
sales.  Frances  Ridley  Havergal's  books  are  an  illustration.  Of 
these  millions  of  copies  have  been  sold,  and  there  is  no  cessation  in 
the  demand.  At  first  her  publisher  protested  against  the  subjects 
she  had  chosen,  and  proposed  some  world-pleasing  substitute,  saying 
that  books  on  the  themes  she  had  selected  would  not  be  salable. 
The  results  show  that  God  still  rules.  His  presence  and  blessings 
are  with  those  whose  labors  are  ' '  ever,  only,  all  for  Jesus. ' '  Let 
one  little  book,  or  tract,  or  periodical,  be  so  filled  with  God's  truth 
and  God's  Spirit  that  conversions  constantly  follow  its  circulation, 
and  no  human  power  can  long  shut  it  up  within  denominational 
boundaries.  To  write  one  such  book  as  "Kept  for  the  Master's 
Use"  is  far  better  than  to  found  an  "empire,  or  revolutionize  all 
human  sciences. 

It  remains  to  speak  of  the  relations  of  the  Cumberland  Presby- 
terian church  to  the  Presbyterian  Alliance.      The  plan  for  this 


463  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  vi. 

"general  council  of  all  Presbyterian  bodies  throughout  the  world  " 
was  formed  at  the  meeting  of  the  Evangelical  Alliance  in  New 
York  city,  in  1873.  In  response  to  a  communication  from  the 
General  Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian  church  in  the  United  States 
of  America,  inviting  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  church  to  par- 
ticipate in  this  "  Ecumenical  Council  of  Presbyterians,"  our  Assem- 
bly in  1874  appointed  "a  committee  to  confer  with  similar  com- 
mittees from  other  Presbyterian  Assemblies  to  arrange  for  such  a 
Council."  This  committee  never  reported.  In  1875  our  Assembly 
appointed  the  Rev.  W.  E.  Ward,  D.D.,  to  attend  the  "Presbyterian 
Alliance  to  meet  in  London."  At  this  London  conference,  which 
began  July  21st,  1875,  there  were  sixty-four  commissioners  present, 
representing  twenty-two  Presbyterian  organizations;  but  as  Dr. 
Ward  failed  to  be  present,  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  church 
had  no  representative  in  this  initial  meeting,  and,  therefore,  did 
not  become  one  of  the  churches  originally  composing  the  Alliance. 
The  commissioners  in  attendance  agreed  upon  a  basis  of  union,  and 
adopted  a  constitution,  designating  the  body  as  "The  Alliance  of 
the  Reformed  Churches  Throughout  the  World  holding  the  Pres- 
byterian System,"  and  providing  that  "Any  church  organized  on 
Presbyterian  principles,  which  holds  the  supreme  authority  of  the 
scriptures  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments  in  matters  of  faith  and 
morals,  and  whose  creed  is  in  harmony  with  the  Consensus  of  the 
Reformed  Confessions,  shall  be  eligible  for  admission  into  the  Alli- 
ance. ' ' 

The  first  regular  meeting  of  the  Alliance  under  this  constitution 
was  held  in  Edinburgh,  Scotland,  beginning  July  4,  1877,  but  no 
Cumberland  Presbyterian  delegates  were  in  attendance.  None  had 
been  appointed.  Oui-  General  Assembly  in  1880  appointed  nine 
representatives  to  attend  the  Alliance's  regular  meeting,  which  was 
to  convene  at  Philadelphia,  September  23d  of  that  year.  Only  two 
of  these,  the  Rev.  W.  H.  Black,  and  INIr.  John  R.  Rush,  presented 
themselves  for  admission.  The  Committee  on  Credentials  reported 
against  the  admission  of  the  two  delegates.     The  report  said  : 

We  are  constrained  to  adopt  this  resolution  by  the  absence  of  suf- 
ficient evidence  that  the  Cumberland  church  now  accept  the  doctrinal 
basis  of  the  Alliance,  and  by  the  terms  of  Article  II.  of  the  Constitution, 


Chapter  XLII.]         SEVERAIv  GENERAI.   ASSEMBLIES.  463 

which  restricts  the  Alliance  to  churches  whose  creeds  are  in  harmony 
with  the  Consensus  of  the  Reformed  Confessions. 

No  one  in  the  Council  seemed  to  comprehend  the  importance  of 
this  report,  when  it  was  first  presented  by  the  committee,  and  it 
was  adopted  without  discussion;  but  on  the  following  day  the  ques- 
tion was  re-opened,  and  led  to  an  exciting  debate.  One  leading 
member  argued  that  these  delegates  could  not  be  admitted  because 
the  church  they  represented  did  not  accept  the  whole  of  the  West- 
minster Confession.  Another  argued  that  because  the  committees 
on  organic  union  between  Cumberland  Presbyterians  and  Southern 
Presbyterians  had,  in  their  conference  at  Memphis,  in  1867,  failed 
to  agree,  therefore  Cumberland  Presbyterians  had  no  right  to  seats 
in  the  Council.  But  many  of  the  best  men  in  the  Alliance,  repre- 
senting both  Europe  and  America,  argued  in  favor  of  the  admission 
of  our  delegates.  After  this  matter  had  been  before  the  Alliance 
for  several  days,  the  following  was  adopted  in  lieu  of  the  report  of 
the  Committee  on  Credentials: 

Resolved^  That  the  Council  are  unable,  hoc  statu,  to  admit  as  mem- 
bers brethren  representing  churches  whose  relations  to  the  Constitution 
have  not  been  explained  and  can  not  now  be  considered. 

This,  as  a  leading  religious  paper  remarked  at  the  time,  kept 
the  delegates  out  without  committing  the  Alliance  permanently  to 
the  rejection  of  the  church  they  represented.  In  his  report  to  our 
General  Assembly,  the  Rev.  W.  H.  Black  said: 

You  are  already  acquainted  with  the  facts  concerning  the  rejection 
of  your  delegates,  ostensibly,  because  our  Assembly  had  not  taken  the 
necessary  regular  steps  toward  admission;  but  really,  as  your  delegate 
thinks,  because  some  of  the  members  of  the  Alliance  considered  the 
doctrines  of  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  church  out  of  harmony  with 
the  Consensus  of  the  Reformed  Confessions. 

This  matter  awakened  a  lively  interest,  both  in  this  country 
and  Europe,  and  was  widely  discussed  by  the  press.  There  was, 
among  the  more  liberal  members  of  the  Alliance,  much  dissatisfac- 
tion with  the  result.  The  Cumberland  Presbyterian  General  As- 
sembly at  its  next  meeting,  in  188 1,  after  formally  adopting  the 
Constitution  of  the  Alliance,  and  submitting  our  Confession  of 
Faith,    "as  indicating  our  harmony  with   the  Consensus  of  the 


464  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  vi. 

Reformed  Confessions,"  appointed  a  committee,  "to  consider  the 
subject  in  the  light  of  future  developments,  and  to  report  to  the 
next  Assembly."  The  report  of  this  committee,  which  was  unani- 
mously adopted  by  the  General  Assembly  of  1882,  stated  the  par- 
ticulars' in  which  the  founders  of  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian 
church  dissented  from  the  Westminster  Confession,  and  then  added: 

By  these  exceptions  it  will  be  seen  that  we  have  an  amended  form 
of  the  Westminster  Confession  of  Faith,  and  if  this  puts  us  out  of  har- 
mony with  the  Consensus  of  the  Reformed  Confessions,  we  will  be 
glad  to  have  the  fact  clearly  and  unequivocally  stated.  That  this  may 
be  certainly  done  by  the  next  Council,  we  recommend  that  you  appoint 
delej^ates  to  the  next  meeting  of  the  Alliance  in  the  city  of  Belfast, 
Ireland,  in  1884. 

The  next  year  our  Assembly  adopted  an  address,  submitting  to 
the  Alliance  "Our  Confession  of  Faith  and  Government,"  and 
saying  to  that  Council:  "  If  the  difference  between  our  statements 
of  doctrine  and  those  of  the  Westminster  Confession  of  Faith  is 
inconsistent  with  our  being  represented  in  your  body,  }-ou  will  so 
decide." 

Twenty-five  delegates  had  been  appointed  to  attend  the  meeting 
of  the  Alliance  at  Belfast,  which  was  to  convene  June  24th,  1884. 
Twelve  of  the  number  were  present  at  that  meeting.  The  first 
important  item  before  this  Council  was  the  report  of  a  committee 
appointed  four  years  before  to  define  the  Consensus  of  the  Reformed 
Confessions.  This  committee  announced  that,  after  diligent  in- 
quiry, the  conclusion  had  been  reached  that  it  was  inexpedient  to 
attempt  a  statement  of  the  creed  on  which  the  churches  composing 
the  Alliance  were  united.  It  had  been  discovered  that  the  Presby- 
terian churches  in  Continental  Europe  were  not  in  harmony  with 
the  Westminster  Confession  of  Faith  in  many  important  particulars, 
and  it  was  well  known  that  even  the  United  Presbyterian  Church 
of  Scotland  had  found  it  necessary  to  adopt  an  explanator}'  clause, 
to  which  candidates  for  ordination  were  required  to  subscribe,  rather 
than  to  the  simple  Confession. 

Much  interest  was  felt  in  the  probable  result  of  the  application 
of  our  delegates  for  admission.     So  great  was  the  demand  for  Cum- 

*  See  page  99  of  this  historjr. 


Rev.  R. Beard.  D,  D 


IlnJ^liy  J.CBii(to.N.y. 

Rev.   A.J.  Baird,   D.D.  Rev  S.G.Burney,  D.D. 


Chapter  XLII.]         SEVERAL  GENERAL   ASSEMBLIES.  465 

berlaiid  Presbyterian  Confessions  of  Faith,  that  a  Belfast  firm 
printed  a  new  edition  of  three  thousand  copies  of  that  book.  The 
Committee  on  the  Reception  of  Churches  was  enlarged  from  three 
to  seventeen  members,  representing  all  shades  of  opinion  and  all 
parts  of  the  world.  After  due  deliberation  this  committee  unani- 
mously agreed  upon  the  following  report,  which  was  presented  to 
the  Council: 

Respecting  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  United 
States  of  America,  the  following  deliverance  "v\^as  unanimously  adopted: 

Whereas,  The  Cumberland  Presbyterian  Church  has  adopted  the 
Constitution  of  the  Alliance; 

Whereas,  It  was  one  of  the  churches  which  was  invited  to  assist 
in  the  formation  of  the  Alliance  in  1875; 

Whereas,  It  has  now,  as  on  previous  occasions,  made  application 
for  admission,  and  has  sent  delegates  to  the  present  meeting; 

Whereas,  Further,  as  declared  by  the  first  meeting  of  the  Council, 
the  responsibility  of  deciding  whether  they  ought  to  join  the  AlHance 
should  rest  on  the  churches  themselves,  your  committee  recommends  to 
the  Council,  without  pronouncing  any  judgment  on  the  church's  revision 
of  the  Westminster  Confession  and  Shorter  Catechism,  to  admit  the 
Cumberland  Presbyterian  church  into  the  Alliance,  and  to  invite  the 
delegates  now  present  to  take  their  seats. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Martin,  of  Kentucky,  moved  to  reject  the  report, 
and  made  a  lengthy  speech  against  the  reception  of  our  delegates. 
A  heated  debate  followed  which  lasted  three  hours,  and  in  which 
the  representatives  from  the  Southern  Presbyterian  church  took 
the  lead  in  opposing  the  report  of  the  committee.  Men  represent- 
ing the  best  thought  in  the  several  churches  composing  the  Alli- 
ance, took  strong  grounds  in  its  favor.  Among  these  were  Dr. 
Briggs  and  Dr.  John  Hall,  of  New  York;  Professor  E.  D.  Morris, 
of  Cincinnati ;  Professor  Calderwood,  of  Edinburgh ;  Principal  Mc- 
Vicar,  of  Montreal;  and  Dr.  Brown  and  Dr.  Story,  of  Scotland. 
Dr.  Monod,  of  France,  warned  the  Council  that  if  the  Cumberland 
Presbyterians  were  rejected  the  continental  churches  would  feel 
themselves  bound  to  withdraw  from  the  Alliance.'  Less  than 
twenty  members  of  the  Council  voted  in  favor  of  Dr.  Martin's 
motion.     On  motion  of  the  Rev.  T.  W.  Chambers,  D.D.,  of  New 

'Report  in  Cumberland  Presbyterian,  Julj  24,  1SS4. 
30 


466  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.      [Period,  vi. 

York,  the  closing  part  of  Committee's  report,  was  made  to  read  as 
follows,  and  with  this  amendment  was  adopted: 

The  Council,  without  approving  of  the  church's  revision  of  the 
Westminster  Confession  and  of  the  Shorter  Catechism,  admit  the  Cum- 
berland Presbyterian  church  into  the  Alliance,  and  invite  the  delegates 
now  present  to  take  their  seats. 

Our  delegates,  in  their  report  to  the  next  Assembly  (1885),  said: 

Dr.  Chambers'  amendment  was  carried  by  a  vote  of  112  to  78. 
Those  voting  against  Dr.  Chambers'  amendment  were  in  favor  of  ad- 
mitting our  church  unconditionally.  Those  voting  for  the  amendment 
desired  the  admission  of  the  church  "without  approving  our  revision 
of  the  Westminster  Confession  of  Faith."  After  due  deliberation  and 
consultation,  we  decided  to  accept  seats  in  the  Council  and  report  our 
action  to  you.  The  action  of  the  Council  in  this  matter  gave  great  sat- 
isfaction to  its  members.  .  .  .  We  take  special  pleasure  in  bearing  testi- 
mony to  the  cordial  and  hearty  reception  our  delegates  received,  both 
from  members  of  the  Council  and  the  citizens  of  Belfast.  .  .  .  W"e  recom- 
mend that  you  continue  to  fraternize  with  this  great  and  powerful 
organization  intended  to  promote  the  welfare  of  our  common  Presby- 
terianism. 

The  General  Assembly  (1885)  adopted  the  following  report  on 
this  subject: 

Your  committee  has  fully  considered  the  report  of  your  delegates  to 
the  Pan-Presbyterian  Council,  also  the  official  communication  from  the 
clerk  of  the  Council,  and  unanimously  recommend  that  you  adopt  the 
following  preamble  and  resolutions:  • 

Whereas,  The  Council  was  neither  asked  nor  expected  to  express 
approval  of  our  Confession  of  Faith,  but  to  decide  whether  it  is  in  har- 
mony with  the  Consensus  of  the  Reformed  churches;  and, 

Whereas,  The  Council  decided  to  admit  the  Cumberland  Presby- 
terian church  to  membership  in  the  Alliance,  and  our  delegates  to  seats 
in  the  Council,  thereby  placing  the  Alliance  upon  a  basis  not  Inconsist- 
ent with  our  creed;  therefore, 

Resolved,  i.  That  this  new  evidence  of  a  growing  catholicity  among 
the  members  of  the  great  Presbyterian  family  is  hailed  with  pleasure 
by  this  General  Assembly  representing  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian 
church. 

3.  That  we,  as  a  denomination  of  Christians,  continue  to  fraternize 
cordially  with  the  liberal  and  progressive  churches  composing  the  Alli- 
ance, endeavoring.  In  the  true  spirit  of  unity,  with  them  to  promote  the 
gospel's  advancement  throughout  the  world. 


Chapter  XLII.]         SEVERAL  GENERAL  ASSEMBLIES.  467 

Although  the  action  by  which  our  church  was  admitted  to 
membership  in  the  Alliance  was  not  entirely  pleasing  to  all  our 
ministers  and  people,  yet  the  General  Assembly  has  shown  no  dis- 
position to  recede  from  the  steps  it  has  taken  in  this  matter.  In 
its  latest  action  the  Assembly  declared  that  the  connection  of  our 
church  with  the  Alliance  has  brought  the  system  of  doctrine 
taught  by  our  people  to  the  attention  of  the  world  as  never 
before,  and  that  the  Alliance  has  become  a  medium  of  greater 
fraternity  among  the  churches,  drawing  them  together,  promoting 
a  better  understanding  among  the  great  organizations  constituting 
the  Presbyterian  family,  and  promising  to  become  the  medium  of 
practical  co-operation  in  foreign  mission  fields.  While  it  is  felt 
that  co-operation  is  needed,  the  indications  are  strong  that  the 
churches  which  most  opposed  the  admission  of  Cumberland  Pres- 
byterians to  membership  in  the  Alliance  need  us  more  than  we 
need  them.  The  noble  words  of  Dr.  E.  D.  Morris,  of  Lane  Sem- 
inary, Cincinnati,  Ohio,  uttered  in  behalf  of  our  people  in  the  Coun- 
cil at  Belfast,  ought  to  endear  him  to  all  Cumberland  Presbyte- 
rians forever. 

A  sad  event  connected  with  the  journey  of  the  Cumberland 
Presbyterian  delegates  to  the  Belfast  Council  was  the  death  of  the 
Rev.  A.  J.  Baird,  D.D.  His  health  had  been  failing  for  several 
months,  but  he  was  unwilling  to  give  up  his  cherished  purpose  to 
attend  the  Alliance,  and  he  hoped  to  be  benefited  by  foreign 
travel.  He,  however,  grew  rapidly  worse  after  leaving  home,  and 
at  New  York  city,  June  15,  1884,  the  day  after  his  fellow-commis- 
sioners sailed,  he  breathed  his  last.  By  his  eloquence,  his  winning 
personality,  and  his  genial  and  loving  spirit,  as  well  as  by  his  work 
as  a  pastor  and  revival  preacher  and  a  writer,  he  had  won  a  place 
in  the  affections  of  our  people  which  has  been  attained  by  few,  and 
his  death  was  mourned  as  a  great  loss  to  the  church. 

The  process  of  consolidating  synods  has  gone  on  steadily 
throughout  this  period.  Presbyteries,  also,  have  in  several  in- 
stances been  consolidated.  So  far  as  can  be  learned,  the  results 
in  all  these  cases  have  been  favorable.  Large  bodies  are  more 
powerful. 

The  following  new  synods  have  been  organized:  Ozark  (re- 


468  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  vi. 

organized),  1871;  Oregon  and  Kansas,  1875;  Missouri  Valley,  1877; 
Trinity,  1878. 

The  following  new  presbyteries  have  appeared  in  the  Assem- 
bly's Minutes: 

Ozark  (reorganized)  and  Rocky  Mountain,  1871;  Nolin,  Nebras- 
ka, and  Louisiana,  1873;  Hot  Springs  and  Magazine,  1874;  Purdy, 
Republican  Valley,  and  Bosque,  1875;  Kirkpatrick  and  Hill,  1876; 
Wichita  and  Graham,  1878;  vSpringville,  Albion,  Missouri,  Burrow, 
and  La  Crosse,  1880;  Mayfield  and  San  Saba,  1882;  Gregory,  1883; 
Bonham,  Cherokee,  and  McDonald,  1884;  Florida  and  Buffalo  Gap, 
1885.  Louisiana  and  McDonald  are  disbanded  presbyteries  re- 
stored. The  dates  given  are  the  dates  when  the  first  mention  of 
these  presbyteries  is  found  in  the  Minutes  of  the  Assembly. 

The  following  table  shows  the  statistics  for  diflferent  parts  of 
this  period: 

Members. 

96>33S 

98,242 

111,863 

i38>564 

The  contributions  have  increased  more  than  four  hundred  per 
cent.,  and  the  number  of  Sunday-school  pupils  nearly  three  hun- 
dred per  cent.     The  progress  in  other  things  is  also  encouraging. 

The  colored  Cumberland  Presbyterians  have  made  rapid  growth 
in  numbers,  but  their  statistics  are  not  included  in  this  table.  One 
thing  which  has  always  been  characteristic  of  the  growth  of  the 
Cumberland  Presbyterian  church  is  that  it  represents  not  prose- 
lytes from  other  churches,  but  soiils  won  from  the  kingdom  of 
darkness.  For  the  few  proselytes  coming  to  us  from  others  we  can 
show  a  little  army  of  persons  who  were  converted  at  our  meetings, 
and  who  afterward  joined  some  other  denomination.  Such  a 
record  is  worth  more  than  longer  lists  of  names  on  the  church  roll. 
May  God  grant  us  grace  in  all  the  coming  years  to  be  more  in  ear- 
nest to  bring  souls  to  Christ  than  to  build  up  denominational 
strength ! 


Year. 

Ministers. 

1871 

1,116 

187s 

1,232 

1880 

1,386 

1886 

1.547 

Sunday-school  Pupils. 

Contributions. 

26,466 

$136.-31 

44,912 

$295,886 

54.813 

$329418 

74.576 

$553,033 

Chapter  XLIII.]  MISSIONS.  469 


CHAPTER   XLIII. 


MISSIONS. 

I  gave,  I  gave  my  life  for  thee, 
What  hast  thou  given  for  me  ? 

—F.  R.  H, 

WHILE  still  far  behind  its  duty  in  missionary  work,  the 
Cumberland  Presbyterian  church  has  made  great  progress 
therein  during  the  last  ten  y^ears.  Private  missions,  presbyterial 
and  synodical  missions,  and  itinerant  missions  under  the  church 
board  have  been  numerous,  and  it  is  not  possible  to  give  even  in 
outline  the  history  of  all  these. 

In  city  mission  work  the  results  during  the  last  fourteen  years 
have  been  far  more  encouraging  than  in  any  former  period.  Since 
1870  a  large  proportion  of  our  mission  churches  in  cities  and  towns 
have  grown  strong  enough  to  dispense  with  the  assistance  of  the 
board.  Among  these  are  two  in  St.  Louis,  one  made  up  of  Ger- 
man-speaking and  the  other  of  English-speaking  Cumberland 
Presbyterians.  The  latter,  which,  to  distinguish  it  from  the  other, 
was  designated  as  the  "American"  mission,  has  had  a  remarkable 
history.  The  Rev.  J.  G.  White  became  missionary  at  St.  Louis, 
November,  1848,  and  continued  in  this  work  until  i860,  when  he 
was  succeeded  by  the  Rev.  L.  C.  Ransom.  At  the  beginning  of 
the  civil  war  this  mission  had  a  growing  congregation  and  a  good 
house  of  worship  located  in  a  central  and  desirable  part  of  the  city. 
On  the  property,  valued  at  $27,000,  there  was  an  embarrassing  debt 
of  nearly  $10,000.  Soon  after  the  war  commenced  the  missionary 
went  to  Alabama,  and  the  little  flock  became  shepherdless.  The 
regular  services  were  suspended,  and  the  building  was  finally  sold 
to  meet  the  claims  of  creditors. 

Though  the  fruit  of  the  toil  and  sacrifice  of  more  than  fifteen 
years  was  thus  lost,  efforts  to  revive  the  work  were  not  given  up. 
In  .the  Assembly  of  1865  the  Committee  on  Missions  recommended 


470  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.      [Period  vi. 

St.  Louis  as  an  important  mission  field,  and  stated  that  the  congre- 
gation then  had  "an  opportunity  to  purchase  a  comfortable  and 
well-situated  house  of  worship  at  reasonable  rates."  The  next 
year  the  Board  of  Missions,  at  Alton,  Illinois,  reported  that  the 
Rev.  F.  M.  Gilliam  had  been  appointed  to  take  charge  of  the  St. 
Louis  work,  and  that  a  jilan  for  raising  money  by  a  joint  stock 
company  to  purchase  a  house  and  lot  had  been  adopted  and  was 
succeeding  admirably.  The  missionary  had  been  in  the  field  as 
soliciting  agent,  and  had  secured  subscriptions  enough  to  pay  for 
this  property.  He,  however,  for  some  reason  not  stated  in  the 
Minutes,  resigned  in  October,  1866, 

About  this  time  the  board  adopted  a  new,  and  what  proved  to 
be  an  unfortunate  measure.  A  congregation  known  as  the  ' '  First 
Independent  Church  of  St.  Louis,"  which  had  grown  out  of  a  mis- 
sion Sunday-school,  had  a  large  and  expensive  house  of  worship  in 
process  of  erection.  Eight  thousand  dollars  was  needed  to  com- 
plete this  building,  and  there  was  a  debt  of  fifteen  thousand  dollars 
on  it.  The  members  of  this  church  proposed  to  become  Cumber- 
land Presbyterians,  and  to  convey  this  property  to  our  mission,  on 
condition  that  the  board  would  assume  the  debt.  This  proposition 
was  accepted,  and  the  property  already  owned  by  the  mission,  as 
well  as  this  new  property,  was  mortgaged  in  order  to  borrow 
$20,000  to  meet  the  pressing  claims  of  the  creditors  of  the  Inde- 
pendent church,  and  to  advance  the  work  on  the  new  building. 
December  12th,  1866,  the  Rev.  J.  H.  Coulter,  whose  ministerial 
services  had  been  temporarily  secured  by  the  mission,  perfected 
the  organization  of  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  congregation, 
and  the  formal  union  with  the  Independent  congregation  was 
effected  February  17,  1867.  The  consolidated  church  then  num- 
bered one  hundred  and  fifteen  members.  The  property  acquired 
by  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  mission  before  forming  this  union 
was  sold,  and  the  proceeds  used  in  prosecuting  the  work  on  the  new 
building.  The  basement  was  finished  October,  1867,  but  to  secure 
this  result  two  thousand  dollars  more  had  been  borrowed.  Though 
the  property  was  valued  at  forty-six  thousand  dollars,  the  debts  be- 
gan to  be  pressing.  The  Rev.  F.  M.  Gilliam,  who  had  for  a  time 
resumed  the  charge  of  the  work,  had  again  resigned,  and  the  Rev. 


Chapter  XLIII.]  MISSIONS.  47I 

William  S.  I^angdon  had  been  appointed  temporarily  as  missionary. 
In  1869  the  board  reported  unforseen  reverses.  The  payments  of 
interest  due  had  not  been  met  by  the  board,  and  a  large  portion  of 
those  who  had  composed  the  Independent  church  had  seceded  and 
taken  possession  of  the  property.  When  the  Assembly  of  1870 
met,  the  "Independent"  faction  still  held  the  building.  To  the 
Assembly  of  1872  the  board  reported  that  all  honorable  means  to 
get  possession  of  the  property  or  '  *  to  get  back  the  money  we  had 
invested  over  and  above  the  debts  of  the  property,"  had  been  in 
vain.  That  portion  of  the  congregation  which  had  seceded  had 
taken  refuge  in  the  Presbyterian  church,  and  under  the  sanction 
of  the  St.  L-ouis  Presbyteiy  captured  the  house.  Both  this  presby- 
tery and  the  congregation  which  held  the  property  acknowledged 
their  moral  obligation  to  repay  the  money  our  people  had  invested ; 
but  they  not  only  failed  to  meet  this  obligation,  but  thwarted  all 
the  board's  efforts  to  re-imburse  itself 

Abandoning  all  hope  of  success  in  this  quarter,  the  board  re- 
solved to  begin  a  new  work  in  another  part  of  the  city.  Efforts 
were  set  on  foot  to  secure  ten  thousand  dollars  to  buy  a  lot  and 
build  a  chapel.  In  May,  1873,  the  Rev.  E.  J.  Gillespie  was  already 
soliciting  funds  for  this  purpose.  In  the  summer  of  1874  the 
board  resolved  to  prosecute  this  work  with  renewed  vigor,  but 
' '  with  no  hope  of  success  in  a  day  or  a  year. ' '  The  Rev.  C.  H. 
Bell,  D.D.,  was  chosen  to  take  charge  of  the  work.  Before  the 
meeting  of  the  Assembly  of  1875,  ten  thousand  dollars  in  notes 
and  pledges  had  been  secured.  Dr.  Bell  and  others  diligently 
prosecuted  the  work  of  raising  money;  and  the  board,  made  wiser 
by  its  past  experiments,  promised  "to  take  no  step  until  it  had  the 
money  to  pay  for  what  was  done. ' '  Through  these  years  the  mis- 
sionary, ' '  when  not  engaged  in  soliciting  funds,  devoted  his  atten- 
tion to  looking  up  members  and  others  in  sympathy  with  the 
church,  and  to  conducting  services  in  various  parts  of  the  city." 
The  congregation  was  organized,  and  took  possession  of  its  new 
chapel  December  i,  1877.  In  May,  1879,  this  church  had  fifty- 
three  in  communion;  and  during  the  year  ending  with  May,  1880, 
it  not  only  paid  its  incidental  expenses,  but  contributed  nearly 
three  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  toward  the  missionary's  salary.     At 


472  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History,       [Period  vi. 

the  close  of  1880  Dr.  Bell  asked  leave  to  retire  from  the  work. 
His  resignation  took  effect  January  31,  1881,  and  the  Rev.  W.  H. 
Black  succeeded  him  immediately.  This  church  became  self-sup- 
porting January  i,  1882,  and  has  since  grown  steadily  in  numbers 
and  influence.     The  Rev.  W.  H.  Black  is  still  its  pastor  (1887). 

The  lessons  learned  in  connection  with  this  St.  Louis  work  and 
from  similar  efforts  elsewhere  have  borne  good  fruit.  Successful 
mission  churches  have  grown  up  in  a  number  of  cities  and  towns, 
and  the  missionary  work  of  the  church  has  prospered  as  never  be- 
fore. Among  the  city  missions  that  have  grown  into  successful 
churches  during  this  period  are  one  at  Little  Rock,  Arkansas,  one 
at  Kansas  City,  Missouri,  one  at  Sedalia,  Missouri,  and  one  at 
Logansport,  Indiana. 

The  Little  Rock  mission  became  self-supporting  in  1875.  Of 
this  mission  the  board,  in  its  report  to  the  Assembly  of  1876,  said: 

Tlie  work  at  this  place  has  made  most  gratifying  progress  spiritu- 
all}',  and  also  financially,  so  that  it  has  become  self-sustaining  as  to  the 
pastor's  support.  .  .  .  The  fruits  which  have  rapidly  attended  this 
work,  undertaken  only  a  few  years  ago,  are  most  encouraging,  and  are 
in  large  part,  under  God,  due  to  the  zeal  and  judgment  of  S.  H.  Buch- 
anan, D.D.,  the  pastor. 

Dr.  Buchanan  is  still  pastor  of  this  church. 

To  the  General  Assembly  of  1870  the  Kansas  City  mission  was 
reported  as  a  new  enterprise  but  lately  received  under  the  care  of 
the  board.  Through  the  efforts  of  Lexington  Presbytery,  a  neat 
and  comfortable  house  of  worship  had  been  erected.  The  Rev.  J.  E. 
Sharp  was  missionary,  and  through  his  efficient  labors,  supported 
by  contributions  from  the  presbytery,  the  foundations  of  our  church 
here  were  securely  laid.  He  resigned  in  the  fall  of  1874.  After- 
ward the  Rev.  C.  P.  Duvall  for  a  time  had  charge  of  this  mission. 
The  Rev.  B,  P.  Fullerton  was  called  to  this  field  in  1879,  entering 
upon  the  work  October  ist.  He  is  still  the  pastor  in  charge.  The 
church  was  declared  self-sustaining  October  8,  1883.  A  new  and 
commodious  house  of  worship  was  dedicated  the  day  before.  The 
work  of  this  church  continues  to  be  greatly  blessed.  From  the 
beginning  this  mission  was  under  the  direct  care  and  support  of 
the  Lexington  Presbyter)\ 


Chapter  XLIIL]  MISSIONS.  473 

The  Rev.  A.  H.  Stephens  became  missionary  at  Sedalia,  Mis- 
souri, June  I,  1881.  Efforts  to  establish  a  Cumberland  Presbyte- 
rian church  in  this  growing  city  had  been  begun  several  years 
before.  With  a  view  of  building  a  house  of  worship,  a  small  sum 
of  money  had  been  raised,  and  was  in  the  hands  of  a  committee 
appointed  by  New  Lebanon  Presbytery;  but  prior  to  1878  all 
efforts  to  build  up  a  congregation  had  failed.  In  September  of 
that  year  the  Rev.  J.  T.  A.  Henderson,  then  of  Knobnoster,  Mis- 
souri, began  to  preach  twice  a  month  in  this  city  without  any 
appointment  from  the  board  or  the  presbytery,  and  at  his  own 
charges.  He  continued  these  services  regularly  for  about  two 
years,  his  compensation  being  less  than  his  traveling  expenses. 
During  the  years  1879  and  1880  a  small  frame  church  costing 
$2,500  was  erected  with  money  collected  by  New  Lebanon  Presby- 
tery. The  w^ork,  though  under  the  charge  of  the  Board  of  Mis- 
sions after  1881,  was  sustained  by  the  contributions  of  this  presby- 
tery. This  congregation  became  self-supporting  November  29, 
1885,  at  which  time  it  dedicated  a  new  and  elegant  church  edifice. 
In  May,  1886,  it  reported  a  membership  of  one  hundred  and  thir- 
teen, and  has  since  steadily  grown  in  numbers  and  usefulness 
under  the  efficient  pastorate  of  Mr.  Stephens.  The  General  As- 
sembly of  1886  was  held  at  Sedalia. 

In  the  fall  of  1875  the  Board  of  Missions,  at  the  earnest  solic- 
itation of  ministers  and  members  of  the  church  in  Indiana,  and 
after  due  investigation,  resolved  to  plant  a  mission  in  Logansport, 
and  appointed  the  Rev.  A.  W.  Hawkins  missionary.  He  took 
charge  of  the  work  November  i,  1875.  Twelve  or  fourteen  per- 
sons who  had  once  been  Cumberland  Presbyterians  were  found  in 
or  near  the  city.  A  hall  was  rented  and  regular  services  held.  Of 
his  work  at  this  time  the  missionary  says:  "I  made  my  sermons 
in  the  early  part  of  the  week,  and  in  the  latter  part  of  the  week 
I  went  out  and  made  a  congregation  to  hear  them."  In  May, 
1876,  a  church  with  thirty-five  members  was  organized.  In  1877 
a  lot  with  a  dwelling-house  on  it  was  purchased,  and  a  comfortable 
church  was  built  and  dedicated.  All  the  money  used  in  erecting 
this  building,  except  fifteen  dollars  sent  from  Pennsylvania,  was 
raised  at  Logansport  by  the  missionary,  who  though  "cramped  by 


474  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  xi. 

a  support  far  too  meager,"  continued  to  be  "patient,  persevering, 
and  successful.'"  In  February,  1885,  lie  handed  in  his  resigna- 
tion, but  continued  in  charge  of  the  work  until  the  8th  of  the  fol- 
lowing April,  at  which  time  he  was  succeeded  by  the  Rev.  James 
Best,  who  continues  to  labor  successfully  in  this  field.  This 
church  was  declared  self-sustaining  Sunday,  May  9,  1886. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  war  there  was  at  Chattanooga,  Tennes- 
see, a  flourishing  Cumberland  Presbyterian  mission.  In  i860  this 
congregation  reported  ninety  in  membership,  and  it  had  "a  neat 
brick  edifice,  well  located,  and  almost  entirely  paid  for."  The 
Rev.  A.  Templeton  was  missionary,  and  his  work  here  had  been 
most  successful;  but  during  the  great  civil  conflict  the  members 
were  scattered  and  the  house  greatly  damaged.  The  work  was  re- 
sumed after  the  war  closed,  and  in  1868  the  little  church  had  thirt}' 
members,  and  regular  services  were  kept  up.  Rev.  N.  W.  !Motheral 
was  then  the  missionary  in  charge,  but  for  some  reason  he  did  not 
long  continue  in  the  work,  and  for  several  years  the  congregation 
was  most  of  the  time  without  a  pastor.  Then  Rev.  W.  D.  Chadick 
became  missionary,  and  under  his  wise  and  energetic  administration 
the  congregation  made  gratifying  progress  for  three  or  four  years. 
By  reason  of  failing  health  he  gave  up  the  work  in  December,  1877. 
Then  after  another  period  of  change  and  uncertainty  the  Rev.  W. 
H.  Darnall,  D.D.,  was  appointed  to  take  charge  of  this  mission, 
and  under  his  labors,  which  continued  from  March,  1880,  to  the 
fall  of  1882,  the  work  was  again  prosperous.  After  his  retirement 
this  church  seems  to  have  passed  from  under  the  care  of  the  board, 
and  was  again  much  of  the  time  without  a  pastor  until  April,  1885, 
when  the  Rev.  E.  J.  McCrosky  entered  upon  his  successful  labors 
in  this  field.  During  the  time  he  had  charge  of  the  work  a  com- 
modious and  beautiful  church  was  erected,  and  the  congregation 
entered  upon  a  new  career  of  growth  and  usefulness.  He  resigned 
July  15,  1887. 

Many  other  mission  churches  not  less  deserving  of  mention 
than  those  whose  work  has  been  thus  briefly  sketched  have,  dur- 
ing this  period,  grown  into  self-support  and  extended  usefulness. 
Those  described  are  but  selections  illustrating  the  character  of  our 

'Report  of  the  Board  of  Missions  to  the  General  Assembly  of  1879. 


Chapter  XLIII.J  MISSIONS.  475 

home  mission  work.  In  the  wide  field  extending  from  Pennsyl- 
vania to  California,  and  from  Iowa  to  Texas,  scores  of  similar  mis- 
sions have  flourished,  not  only  in  towns  and  villages  but  in  country 
places;  not  only  under  the  supervision  of  the  Board  of  Missions, 
but  under  the  direction  of  synods  or  presbyteries,  or  of  single  con- 
gregations, or  through  the  liberality  or  self-sacrifice  of  individual 
church  members  or  ministers. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  some  of  the  important  and  growing 
mission  churches  now  under  the  care  of  the  board,  with  the  names 
of  the  missionaries:  Allegheny,  Pennsylvania,  the  Rev.  J.  H.  Bar- 
nett;  Louisville,  Kentucky,  the  Rev.  B.  D.  Cockrill;  Knoxville, 
Tennessee,  the  Rev.  J.  V.  Stephens;  Birmingham,  Alabama,  the 
Rev.  F.  J.  Tyler;  St.  Joseph,  Missouri,  the  Rev.  Alonzo  Pearson; 
Springfield,  Illinois,  the  Rev.  S.  Richards,  D.  D. ;  Fort  Scott,  Kan- 
sas, the  Rev.  S.  A.  Sadler;  Garden  City,  Kansas,  the  Rev.  J.  R. 
Lowrance;  Fort  Smith,  Arkansas,  the  Rev.  S.  H.  McElvain;  San 
Antonio,  Texas,  the  Rev.  W.  B.  Preston;  Stockton,  California,  the 
Rev.  T.  A.  Cowan;  Meridian,  Mississippi,  the  Rev.  R.  A.  Cody; 
Walla  Walla,  Washington  Territorv^  the  Rev.  W.  W.  Beck.  Of 
these  missions,  and  others  under  the  care  of  the  board.  Dr.  Bell 
says,  in  a  recent  address:^ 

Some  of  these  are  nearly  self-supporting,  having  good  property  un- 
incumbered; others  have  suitable  buildings,  and  the  work  of  gathering 
congregations  is  in  progress;  while  some  are  earnestly  seeking  funds 
for  the  purchase  of  church  homes  preparatory  to  the  commencement 
of  preaching  services.  Never  were  the  prospects  so  encouraging  for 
obtaining  denominational  footing  in  centers  of  moral  and  commercial 
influence. 

Much  of  this  increased  success  in  missionary  work  has  been 
due  to  the  prudence  and  efiiciency  of  those  who  have  administered 
the  affairs  of  the  board.  At  the  beginning  of  this  period  the  work 
Vs^as  under  the  immediate  supervision  of  the  Rev.  R.  S.  Reed,  sec- 
retary. He  died  early  in  the  summer  of  1871,  and  was  succeeded 
by  the  Rev.  J.  B.  Logan,  D.  D. ,  w^ho  was  for  two  years  general 
superintendent  and  corresponding  secretar}^     After  this,  beginning 

'This    address  was   delivered   at   the   Cumberland   Presbj'terian  State  Sunday- 
Bchool  Encampment,  at  Pertle  Springs,  Missouri,  August,  1S77. 


476  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  vi. 

May  I,  1874,  the  Rev.  E.  B.  Crisiiian,  D.D.,  became  superintendent 
and  corresponding  secretary,  and  the  ahnost  seven  years  during 
which  he  held  this  office  were  a  period  of  increasing  success  in 
every  department  of  mission  work.  Since  February,  1881,  the 
Rev.  C.  H.  Bell,  D.D.,  president  of  the  board,  has  devoted  his 
whole  attention  to  the  general  management  of  missions,  and  in 
these  years  this  cause  has  flourished  as  never  before. 

In  no  other  country  on  earth  is  the  home  missionary  work  so 
important  as  it  is  in  the  United  States,  New  States  are  springing 
up,  new  populations  are  gathering.  Vast  communities  are  taking 
shape  and  setting  into  their  final  type  so  rapidly  that  it  requires 
constant  reading  to  keep  up  with  their  progress.  The  opportunity 
now  open  to  home  missions  will  never  return.  This  is  pre-emi- 
nently true  in  regard  to  the  home  mission  work  of  Cumberland 
Presbyterians.  We  can  not  shift  the  responsibility.  We  stand 
nearest  of  all  to  these  new  States.  The  center  of  our  streng-th  and 
influence  is  in  the  West.  Our  own  sons  are  among  the  pioneers 
who  are  pressing  into  these  new  fields.  If  we  fall  behind,  and 
leave  these  rapidly  -  growing  communities  to  be  evangelized  by 
other  churches,  we  must  forever  stand  charged  with  being  false  to 
our  own  children  and  our  own  King. 

Cumberland  Presbyterians  have  missions  among  the  Chicka- 
saw, the  Choctaw,  and  the  Cherokee  Indians.  There  are  two 
growing  presbyteries  in  this  field.  Bethel  Presbytery  has  eleven 
ordained  ministers,  and  ten  probationers.  All  but  two  of  these  are 
natives,  and  the  work  in  that  field  is  now  mainly  done  by  native 
preachers.  This  presbytery  embraces  the  countr}^  of  the  Chicka- 
saws  and  Choctaws,  and  it  has  thirty-one  congregations  and  five 
hundred  and  forty  communicants.  These  two  Nations  are  closely 
united,  and  form  one  missionary  field.  The  churches  in  this  pres- 
bytery are  now  nearly  all  self-sustaining.  Leading  men  among 
the  Indians  are  active  members  of  our  church,  and  attend  our 
General  Assemblies  as  delegates.  One  of  the  most  interestino- 
features  of  the  Assembly  of  1878  was  the  presence  of  Judge  Chico 
as  a  representative  from  Bethel  Presbytery,  Our  work  among  the 
Chickasaw  and  Choctaw  Indians  began  in  1819,  and  has  been  kept 
up  in  some  form  ever  since.     The  Rev.  Calvin  Robinson,  a  native, 


Chapter  XLIII.J  MISSIONS.  477 

the  Rev.  J.  H.  Dickerson,  and  the  Rev.  J.  J.  Smith  are  now  our 
missionaries  in  Bethel  Presbytery.  All  three  are  consecrated  and 
successful  workers. 

Although  zealous  Cumberland  Presbyterian  preachers  have 
often  visited  the  Cherokees  and  held  meetings,  yet  it  was  but 
recently  that  the  board  sent  permanent  missionaries  to  that  field. 
The  first  of  these  was  the  Rev.  N.  J.  Crawford,  in  whose  veins 
there  is  some  Indian  blood.  He  determined  in  1876  to  cast  his  lot 
among  the  Cherokees.  More  than  four  hundred  conversions  were 
reported  as  the  result  of  his  meetings  prior  to  1885. 

There  are  curious  items  about  some  of  our  missionaries  in  that 
field.  The  Rev.  David  Hogan  had  been  preaching  fifty  years  be- 
fore he  determined  to  become  a  missionary.  He  had  preached 
along  with  Finis  Ewing  in  other  days.  With  his  own  hands  he 
closed  Finis  Ewing' s  eyes  when  that  hero  of  the  Cross  fell  asleep 
in  Jesus. '  A  most  interesting  thing  it  is  to  hear  Hogan  talk  of 
his  early  experiences.  He  says:  "  My  church  is  better  known  and 
held  in  higher  esteem  in  heaven  than  it  is  on  earth."  When  he 
was  seventy-one  years  old  he  said  to  the  Board  of  Missions:  "If 
you  will  commission  me  as  missionary  to  the  Cherokee  Indians, 
without  salary,  I  will  spend  the  rest  of  my  days  preaching  to  that 
people."  The  commission  was  given  him,  and  now  for  more  than 
three  years  he  has  been  laboring  in  this  mission  field. 

The  first  Cumberland  Presbyterian  church  among  the  Chero- 
kees was  organized  by  N.  J.  Crawford  in  1877.  It  is  in  the  eastern 
part  of  the  Cherokee  country,  and  is  known  as  the  Prairie  Grove 
congregation.  There  was  a  great  revival  among  the  Cherokees  in 
1880  and  1881. 

In  1874  a  Cherokee  boy  came  to  Cumberland  University,  Leb- 
anon, Tennessee,  to  prepare  for  the  ministry.  He  was  graduated 
in  1879,  ^^^  ^^  ^^°"^  ^^  ^^^  native  land  preaching  Jesus.  His  name  is 
R.  C.  Parks.  His  churches  now  number  over  a  hundred  members. 
The  Cherokee  Presbytery  was  organized  in  February,  1884,  at 
the  residence  of  the  Rev.  R.  C.  Parks,  Canadian  District,  Indian 
Territor}^  N.  J.  Crawford,  David  Hogan,  and  R.  C.  Parks  were 
the   original   members.     J.  H.  Kelley,  licentiate,  placed   himself 

*  Memoranda  furnished  by  Hogan. 


478  Cumberland  Presbyterian,  History.       [Period  vi. 

under  the  care  of  the  presbytery  at  its  organization.  This  presby- 
tery now  has  five  ordained  ministers,  two  probationers,  and  seven 
congregations,  with  ni'ne  out-stations.  The  aggregate  number  of 
communicants  is  four  hundred  and  fifty. 

One  of  the  schools  in  the  Cherokee  country  is  partially  under 
the  care  of  our  Woman's  Board  of  Missions — that  is,  this  board 
has  been  giving  it  assistance.  This  school  is  known  as  Hogan  In- 
stitute. Our  native  members  and  preachers  have  also  aided  in 
various  other  schools  among  the  Cherokees.  An  item  of  interest 
connected  with  this  presbytery  is  that  a  consecrated  Christian 
5'-oung  lady.  Miss  Bell  Cobb,  is  its  stated  clerk.  In  the  manuscript 
history  of  this  presbyter}^,  prepared  by  this  lady,  the  work  of  N. 
J.  Crawford,  R.  C.  Parks,  J.  H.  Kelley,  David  Plogan,  Laman  Car- 
ter, and  J.  H.  Pigman  is  described  with  a  fullness  of  detail  which 
can  not  be  repeated  here.  This  interesting  narrative  closes  with 
some  statements  which  are  brief  enough  to  be  quoted: 

In  May,  1886,  the  Rev.  Joseph  Smallwood,  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal church,  South,  a  full  blood  Cherokee  Indian,  was,  by  a  commis- 
sion appointed  by  the  presbytery,  received  as  a  minister  in  the  Cum- 
berland Presbyterian  church.  All  the  ministers  in  this  presbytery  are 
now  in  the  field  and  identified  with  the  Cherokee  people,  and,  under 
God,  and  by  the  help  of  his  Holy  Spirit,  intend  to  maintain  and  advance 
the  church's  work  among  them.  The  Board  of  Missions  has  three  mis- 
sionaries in  the  Cherokee  Nation:  the  Rev.  N.  J.  Crawford,  with  a 
salary  of  $25  per  month;  the  Rev.  R.  C.  Parks,  with  a  salary  of  $8.33 
per  month;  and  the  Rev.  David  Hogan,  without  a  salary.  The  presby- 
tery has  one  missionary  in  the  field,  the  Rev.  Josej^h  Smallwood,  with 
a  salary  of  $12.50  per  month. 

Special  mention  must  here  be  made  of  the  Rev.  B.  F.  Totten,  of 
Arkansas  Presbytery,  who  aided  the  Rev.  N.  J.  Crawford  in  revival 
meetings  in  18S0-1;  of  the  Rev.  E.  E.  Baily,  of  Pennsylvania,  who,  at 
his  own  expense,  labored  through  several  revival  seasons,  not  only 
among  the  Cherokee,  but  other  tribes  as  well;  of  the  Rev.  E.  M.  Roach, 
of  Arkansas  Piesbyte?-y,  who  labored  three  months  with  the  Rev.  R. 
C.  Parks  and  the  Rev.  N.  J.  Crawford  in  the  summer  and  fall  of  1885, 
being  employed  and  sent  by  the  Woman's  Home  Missionary  Society 
of  Boonsboro,  Arkansas.  We  are,  also,  under  many  obligations  to  the 
Woman's  Board  of  Foreign  Missions,  Evansville,  Indiana,  for  five  hun- 
dred dollars  kindly  sent  us  in  October,  1885,  for  the  purposes  of  church 
extension. 


Chapter  XLIII.]  ^  MISSIONS.  479 

We  predict  a  bright  future  for  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  church 
in  the  Cherokee  Nation.  The  intelHgence  of  the  people,  the  self-sacri- 
fice of  the  ministry,  and  the  leadings  of  the  Holy  Spirit  all  point  to  the 
success  of  the  church  and  the  glorification  of  God  in  the  salvation  of 
this  people. 

After  the  Board  of  Missions  recalled  the  Rev.  Bdmond  Weir 
from  Liberia  in  1868,  and  until  it  appointed  the  Rev.  S.  T.  Ander- 
son, D.D.,  to  go  to  the  Island  of  Trinidad  in  1873,  it  had  no  foreign 
mission  under  its  care,  unless  we  except  the  work  among  the  Ameri- 
can Indians.  The  records  during  these  years  show  that  our  people 
felt  dissatisfied  with  this  state  of  things. 

In  1870  the  board  declared  that  the  time  had  come  when  the 
Assembly  should  at  least  ' '  begin  to  lay  plans  and  devise  means  for 
active  efforts  in  re-occupying  the  foreign  field,"  and  the  General  As- 
sembly of  that  year  adopted  a  report  which,  after  calling  attention 
to  the  opportunities  for  mission  work  in  Mexico  and  in  the  South 
American  States,  said,  "The  foreign  field  is  open  to  us:  so  far  as 
God  enables  us  we  should  occupy  it." 

In  187 1  the  declarations  of  the  General  Assembly  indicate  that 
there  was  in  the  minds  of  our  people  increasing  interest  in  regard 
to  the  foreign  work.  The  board  was  instructed  to  ascertain  if 
possible  the  best  method  of  entering  upon  this  work,  and  was  direct- 
ed to  raise  funds  for  this  purpose. 

During  the  year  following  the  board  corresponded  with  persons 
in  different  parts  of  the  world  in  order  to  elicit  information  to  guide 
them  in  selecting  a  mission  field.  Among  those  who  were  thus 
written  to  was  Dr.  S.  Irenaeus  Prime,  of  New  York,  who  recommend- 
ed Japan  as  the  heathen  country  "most  accessible  and  least 
occupied  by  Christian  churches,"  and  whose,  people  in  spite  of  "the 
strange  and  seemingly  paradoxical  position  of  the  Japan  govern- 
ment against  Christianity,"  were  eager  to  hear  the  gospel. 

The  board  had  also  received  communications  from  N.  H.  Mc- 
Ghirk,  M.D.,  urging  the  claims  of  the  Island  of  Trinidad  in  the 
West  Indies.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian 
church  who  had  moved  from  Missouri  to  that  island.  He  said  that 
country,  while  nominally  Catholic  was  really  heathen,  and  urged  the 
board  to  send  one  or  two  missionaries  thither. 


480  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.      [Period,  vi. 

A  memorial  came  from  Pennsylvania  Synod  entreating  the 
Assembly  of  1872  to  move  at  once  in  the  work  of  foreig^i  missions. 
This  synod  had  already  made  arrangements  by  which  it  was  to 
send  the  Rev.  M.  L.  Gordon  to  Japan  through  the  American  Board. 
Increased  contributions  for  the  foreign  work  showed  a  growing  in- 
terest in  this  subject  throughout  the  church.  In  their  report  to  this 
Assembly  the  board  expressed  their  unanimous  judgment,  "after 
much  reflection  on  the  subject,"  that  union  with  the  American 
Board  in  the  prosecution  of  mission  work  was  not  advisable  on 
account  of  the  great  dissimilarity  of  doctrinal  views  between  Cum- 
berland Presbyterians  and  those  represented  by  that  board  ;  adding 
that  those  united  in  the  work  through  the  American  Board  had 
"  ever  been  regarded  as  strictly  Calvanistic,  while  the  very^  existence 
of  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  church  is  a  protest  against  the 
radical  features  of  Calvanism." 

To  the  Assembly  of  1873  it  was  announced  that  the  Island  of 
Trinidad  and  the  capital  of  Venezuela,  South  America,  had  been 
selected  as  the  mission  fields  most  easily  accessible  and  promising 
the  quickest  and  surest  results  of  good.  One  chief  reason  which 
influenced  the  board  in  making  this  choice  was  the  expectation  of 
coming  into  possession  of  an  immense  tract  of  land  in  Venezuela. 
This  was  part  of  a  still  larger  tract  which  had  been  granted  by  the 
government  of  Venezuela  to  a  company  of  which  Dr.  N.  H.  McGhirk 
was  a  member.  This  company  had  re-granted  eight  hundred  square 
miles  of  their  prospective  domain  to  nine  trustees  for  the  use  and 
benefit  of  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  church  for  the  purpose  of 
establishing  and  carrying  on  mission  work  in  that  country.^ 

The  Rev.  S.  T.  Anderson,  D.  D.,  was  appointed  missionary  in 
November,  1873,  and  he  proceeded  at  once  to  the  Island  of  Trini- 
dad. Dr.  McGhirk  was  also  appointed  as  a  lay  helper.  Dr.  An- 
derson soon  after  his  arrival  accepted  an  invitation  to  supply  a 
vacant  Presbyterian  mission  church  in  the  city  of  San  Fernando. 
This  congregation  was  under  the  care  of  the  Free  Church  of  Scot- 
land. It  gave  Dr.  Anderson  ten  dollars  a  week  for  his  services  and 
allowed  him  the  free  use  of  the  manse,  agreeing  to  continue  this 
arrangement  until  the  Free  Church  should  send  a  man  to  fill  the 

'Minutes  1S73,  p.  63. 


Chapter  XLIII.]  MISSIONS.  481 

vacancy.  This  gave  our  missionary  a  home  and  work  at  once,  but, 
as  it  also  gave  him  the  largest  part  of  his  support,  the  liberality  of 
the  church  at  home  was  not  developed  by  this  mission  as  it  might 
otherwise  have  been.  Though  there  were  several  thousands  of 
Hindus  and  Chinese  on  the  Island  of  Trinidad  and  sixty  or  seventy 
thousand  negroes,  besides  many  Spaniards,  Portuguese,  French, 
English,  and  a  few  Americans,  our  missionaries  and  the  board  re- 
garded this  island  as  but  the  starting  point  of  their  work.  They 
believed  Venezuela,  among  whose  two  millions  of  people  there  was 
not  one  Protestant  missionary,  to  be  the  great  mission  field  for  our 
people. 

During  the  year  preceding  the  General  Assembly  of  1875  ar- 
rangements were  made  by  which  Dr.  Anderson  became  agent  of  the 
American  Bible  Society  for  the  distribution  of  the  Scriptures.  Dr. 
McGhirk  expected  to  move  to  the  Continent  and  thus  the  work  was 
to  be  extended  to  Venezuela.  The  board  had  been  making  diligent 
inquiry  about  the  half  million  of  acres  of  Venezuelan  land  which 
had  been  granted  to  the  church,  and  trying  to  perfect  the  title. 
But  any  expectations  which  may  have  been  cherished  of  securing 
from  this  source  the  means  of  enlarging  the  mission  work  of  the 
church  failed  to  be  realized.  Though  the  board  in  1876  expressed 
the  opinion  that  this  claim  would  "some  day  be  valuable,"  yet 
neither  the  church  nor  the  cause  of  missions  has  ever  received  any 
benefit  from  it.  Missions  have  seldom  been  effectively  helped  by 
grants  of  land  or  princely  endowments  from  States  or  governments. 
The  preaching  of  the  gospel  among  the  heathen,  as  well  as  at  home, 
must  be  sustained  by  the  self-sacrificing  efforts  and  direct  gifts  of 
consecrated  Christians. 

In  1876  the  board  reported  that  the  work  in  Trinidad  and  Ven- 
eziiela  had  not  been  prosecuted  as  intended  when  the  mission  was 
undertaken.  The  reason  assigned  was  that  it  had  been  found  im- 
possible "to  raise  the  means  necessary  to  send  two  other  men  to 
accompany  Dr.  Anderson  to  Venezuela,  which  was  the  plan  on 
which  the  work  was  begun."  After  laboring  and  waiting  more 
than  two  years  Dr.  Anderson  wrote  to  the  board  expressing  a  de- 
sire to  return  to  the  United  States  unless  the  needed  re-inforcements 
could  at  once  be  sent.  He  stated  also  that  the  condition  of  his  own 
31 


482  CUMliKRLAND    PrESBYTEKIAN    HiSTORV.  [reriod  VI. 

health  and  that  of  his  wife,  as  well  as  the  necessity  of  educating 
his  cliildren  made  it  his  duty  to  return.  At  his  own  request  his 
appointment  as  missionary  expired  with  May,  1876.  He  returned 
to  the  United  States,  and  the  Trinidad  and  Venezuela  mission  was 
abandoned. 

But  the  growing  missionary  spirit  of  the  church  was  not 
checked  by  this  discouraging  failure.  In  answer  to  a  paper  pre- 
sented to  the  Assembly  of  1876,  "recommending  the  cessation  of 
all  work  in  the  foreign  field,"  that  body  declared  that  the  adop- 
tion of  sucli  a  resolution  would  be  "unwise  and  attended  with 
dangerous  consequences,-' '  and  that  ' '  we  ought  not  to  grieve  the 
Spirit's  yearnings  for  foreign  lands."  The  Rev.  J.  B.  Hail  and  the 
Rev.  A.  D.  Hail  had  already  been  accepted  "  as  candidates  "  for 
the  foreign  field,  and  were  preparing  to  enter  the  work,  though  it 
had  not  yet  been  decided  into  what  part  of  the  heathen  world  they 
were  to  be  sent. 

No  series  of  events  in  the  history  of  the  church  bears  more  dis- 
tinctly the  marks  of  God's  providential  hand  than  that  connected 
with  the  origin  and  progress  of  our  denominational  work  in  Japan. 
The  seed  was  sown  nearly  thirty  years  before  by  a  dying  mother's 
prayer.  It  grew  in  the  heart  of  one  young  man  until  other  hearts 
received  it,  and  until  a  whole  church  was  awakened  and  blessed  by 
it.  The  mother  of  M.  L.  Gordon  died  in  Greene  county,  Penn- 
sylvania, when  her  son  was  yet  an  infant.  On  her  death  bed  she 
consecrated  this  boy  to  the  work  of  foreign  missions.  We  do  not 
know  how  often  through  the  }'ears  of  his  youth  thoughts  of  this 
work  were  awakened  in  his  mind.  At  the  breaking  out  of  the  war 
he  enlisted  in  a  Pennsylvania  regiment  and  served  three  }'ears. 
He  was  converted  near  the  close  of  his  tenn  of  enlistment  on  ]\Ior- 
ris  Island,  South  Carolina,  during  the  siege,  under  General  Gilmore, 
of  the  fortifications  in  the  neighborhood  of  Charleston.  In  the 
autumn  of  1864  he  entered  Waynesburg  College,  Pennsylvania,  but 
afterward  gave  up  his  collegiate  studies  for  a  time  and  began  the 
study  of  medicine.  But  his  impressions  that  he  ought  to  devote 
himself  to  the  work  of  the  ministry  became  so  intense  that  he  closed 
his  medical  books  and  returned  to  college  determined  to  prepare 
himself  to  preach  the  gospel.     He  had  in  1865  joined  the  Cumber- 


Chapter  XLIII.]  MISSIONS.  483 

land  Presbyterian  church,  and  in  1868  he  became  a  candidate  for 
the  ministry  in  Penns}'lvania  Presbyter)\  After  his  graduation 
from  Waynesburg  College,  and  while  he  was  in  the  Theological 
Seminary  at  Andover,  Massachusetts,  he  decided  to  enter  the  for- 
eign field.  His  mother's  prayers  were  at  last  ready  to  ripen  into 
fruit. 

The  following  extract  from  the  IMinutes  of  the  General  Assembly 
of  187 1  show  that  he  was  in  correspondence  with  the  Cumberland 
Presbyterian  Board  of  Missions  in  reference  to  the  foreign  work  : 

A  young  brother  of  the  Synod  of  Pennsylvania  is  consecrating  him- 
self to  this  work,  and  is  now  offering  himself  to  the  board  and  asks  to  be 
sent  to  bear  the  glad  tidings  of  salvation  to  poor  dying  sinners  in  heathen 
lands,  but  owing  to  our  want  of  means  we  are  not  prepared  to  recom- 
mend such  decided  action  on  this  subject  as  we  would  otherwise  be 
pleased  to  do.' 

The  Pennsylvania  Synod,  which  urged  the  appointment  of  Gor- 
don by  the  board,  pledged  its  members  to  sustain  him  with  their 
means  and  their  influence.^  Without  chanoine  his  ecclesiastical 
relations,  he  was  finally  commissioned  to  the  work  in  Japan  by 
the  American  Board.  He  received  his  ordination  from  the  Penn- 
sylvania Presbytery  August  6,  1872.  The  Pennsylvania  Synod 
stood  pledged  to  contribute  to  his  support,  and  did  for  six  or 
seven  years  pay  into  the  treasury  of  the  American  Board  a  sum 
averaging  more  than  $700  per  annum.  He  and  his  wife  sailed  to 
Japan  September  ist,  1872,  arriving  at  Yokohama  the  24th  of 
the  same  month.  His  going  attracted  the  eyes  of  the  whole 
church  to  that  field,  and  marked  the  way  for  the  missionaries 
who  were  sent  by  our  board  to  the  same  country  more  than  four 
years  afterward.  God  has  used  him  as  an  honored  instrument  in 
helping  the  work,  not  only  of  the  board  that  sent  him,  but  also 
of  the  church  of  which  he  is  so  worthy  a  minister.  When  our  own 
missionaries  arrived  in  Japan  he  was  there  in  a  successful  mission. 
He  was  an  old  acquaintance  and  friend  of  the  Hail  brothers,  and 
gave  them  all  the  counsel  and  assistance  in  his  power.  Did  the 
limits  of  this  volume  permit  it  would  be  a  pleasant  task  to  take  up 
Dr.  Gordon's  own  labors  and  their  results  in  detail,  nor  would  such 

'Minutes  1871,  pp.  28,  29.         *  Ibid.,  p.  47. 


484  Cumberland  Presbyteriax  History.       [Period  vi. 

a  history- be  unprofitable  or  uninteresting  to  Cumberland  Presby- 
terians. After  nearly  five  years  spent  in  general  missionary'  work 
in  the  city  of  Osaka,  during  which  he  suffered  greatly  from  an 
affection  of  the  eyes,  he  and  family  returned  to  America  in  the 
summer  of  1877.  They  went  out  again  the  next  year,  sailing 
October  ist  in  the  same  vessel  that  bore  A.  D.  Hail  and  family  to 
Japan.  Dr.  Gordon  has  since  labored  most  of  the  time  in  connec- 
tion with  a  training  school  at  Kyoto.  In  Decerhber,  1885,  he  was 
compelled  by  failing  health  to  return  a  second  time  to  the  United 
States.  After  spending  more  than  a  year  in  this  country,  most  of 
the  time  in  California,  he  again  sailed  for  Japan  August  23,  1887. 
Speaking  in  a  late  letter  of  his  work  in  its  relations  to  the  Cum- 
berland Presbyterian  church  he  says  with  characteristic  modesty: 
"I  sometimes  think  that  while  my  going  as  I  did  may  have  been 
helpful  in  arousing  the  board  and  church  to  action,  and  so  divinely 
ordered,  yet  when  an  independent  mission  was  to  be  established 
that  work  was  in  the  same  divinely  wise  way  given  to  other  and 
better  hands. ' ' 

The  brothers  A.  D.  Hail  and  J.  B.  Hail,  whose  mother  is  a 
daughter  of  Alexander  Chapman  of  precious  memor}-,  were  fellow- 
students  of  Gordon,  at  Waynesburg  College.  A.  D.  Hail  Avas 
graduated  from  this  institution  in  1866,  and  his  younger  brother, 
J.  B.  Hail,  three  years  later.  Both  resolved  to  consecrate  tliem- 
selves  as  foreign  missionaries.  We  do  not  know  how  much  Gor- 
don's example  did  toward  turning  their  thoughts  in  this  direction. 
God  often  touches  our  hearts  through  the  silent  influence  of  our 
friends,  or  by  their  words  or  actions.  An  example  of  consecration 
and  of  faithful  service  can  hardly  fail  to  prove  God's  call  beck- 
oning others  to  similar  self-denial  and  faithfulness.  Consciously 
or  unconsciously  every  life  is  influenced  and  molded  by  other 
lives.  When  Gordon  gave  himself  to  the  foreign  work  his  fellow- 
students  and  fellow-candidates  for  the  ministry  could  hardly  fail  to 
feel  the  influence  of  his  example. 

These  two  brothers  began  to  look  about  them  for  an  opportu- 
nity to  enter  the  work  to  which  they  felt  that  they  were  called.  The 
prospects  of  being  sent  to  any  part  of  the  foreign  field  by  the  Cum- 
berland Presbyterian  Board  of  Missions  were    at  that  time  very 


Chapter  XLIIL]  MISSIONS.  485 

discouraging.  Therefore,  J.  B.  Hail  wrote  to  E.  B.  Treat,  corres- 
ponding secretary  of  the  American  Board,  asking  an  appointment 
to  the  foreign  field  as  a  Cumberland  Presbyterian  missionary.  In 
his  reply  the  secretary,  after  inquiring  what  he  was  to  understand 
by  an  appointment  as  a  "Cumberland  Presbyterian  missionary," 
discouraged  the  application  on  account  of  the  limited  financial 
resources  then  at  the  board's  command.  The  younger  Hail  then 
offered  himself  to  our  own  board.  This  was  early  in  the  year  1875. 
His  brother  made  a  like  offer  of  himself  to  the  Cumberland  Presby- 
terian board  in  November  of  the  same  year.  Both  were  accepted  as 
candidates. 

In  1876  Pennsylvania  Synod,  of  which  J.  B.  Plail  was  a  member, 
pledged  $1,000  for  his  outfit  and  $300  a  year  on  his  salar}'-,  on  con- 
dition that  the  board  would  at  once  send  him  to  Japan.  This  offer 
was  accepted,  and  he  and  his  family  sailed  from  San  Francisco  about 
the  first  of  January,  1877,  reaching  Osaka  the  30th  of  that  month. 
There  were  then  not  more  than  fifty  native  Christians  in  that  great 
city.  But  three  Protestant  churches  were  represented  in  mission 
work:  the  Congregationalists,  through  the  American  Board;  and 
the  Episcopalians,  English  and  American.  Our  missionary  and 
his  wife  devoted  themselves  at  once  to  the  study  of  the  language 
and  the  people,  ' '  sometimes  exchanging  instruction  in  English  for 
instruction  in  Japanese."'  They  found  a  home  in  that  part  of  the 
city  allotted  to  foreigners,  and  known  as  the  Foreign  Concession. 

There  was  no  money  in  our  missionary  treasury,  and  A.  D.  Hail, 
who  had  for  some  years  been  pastor  at  Cumberland,  Ohio,  had  to 
wait.  At  the  board's  request  he  studied  medicine,  attending 
Cleveland  Medical  College  in  1876  and  1877.  A  gentleman  in 
Illinois,  early  in  1878  offered  the  board  $1,000  for  Mr.  Hail's  outfit. 
At  the  meeting  of  the  General  Assembly  at  lycbanon,  Tennessee, 
in  May  of  that  year,  he  was  solemnly  ordained  to  this  work,  and  he 
and  his  family  sailed  from  San  Francisco  the  following  autumn 
reaching  Japan  October  21st.  Up  to  this  time  but  one  inquirer,  a 
man  named  Yamamoto  San,  had  placed  himself  under  the  instruc- 
tion of  our  missionaries.  When  J.  B.  Hail  acquired  a  sufficient 
knowledge  of  Japanese  to  begin  to  preach,  efforts  were  made  to  find 

'See  historical  sketch  of  our  Japan  Mission  in  ISIinutes  of  the  Assemblj  18S7,  p.  77. 


486  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  vi. 

a  place  in  the  city  in  which  to  hold  services.  But  there  was  such  a 
prejudice  against  Christianity  that  it  was  almost  three  months 
before  a  preaching  place  was  found.  At  last  a  building  on  Ruhe- 
bashi  street  was  rented  and  ' '  the  first  sermon  was  preached  on  Sab- 
bath, February  9th,  1879,  at  4  p.m.,  almost  the  exact  time  of  the 
sixty-ninth  anniversary  of  our  denomination." 

There  was  much  interest  in  the  services  from  the  first.  In  his 
report  to  the  General  Assembly  of  1879,  A.  D.  Hail,  speaking  of 
these  first  meetings,  says: 

It  is  a  matter  of  profound  interest  to  witness  the  attention  paid  by 
some  of  the  hearers,  and  to  see  others  dropping  into  the  passage-way  as 
they  are  passing,  and  standing  with  great  burdens  of  wares  upon  their 
backs,  and  greater  burdens  upon  their  hearts,  turning  their  bronzed 
faces  toward  the  speaker  to  catch  his  words.  At  sucli  times  one  feels  an 
inexpressible  longing  for  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  tongue  through 
which  so  many  deaf  hearts  must  be  reached. 

The  missionaries  found  that  until  they  became  accustomed  to 
the  climate  they  could  not  work  so  well  as  at  home.  Three  years' 
study  of  the  language  was  required  in  order  to  begin  responsible 
work.  They  were  hindered  by  the  restrictions  of  the  government, 
and  by  the  circulation  of  infidel  books  from  Europe  and  America,  as 
well  as  by  the  difficulty  of  expressing  spiritual  ideas  in  the  Japanese 
tongue,  and  the  degrading  effects  wrought  on  the  people  by  hea- 
thenism. But  the  Christian  homes  of  the  missionaries  were  already 
exerting  an  influence  for  good.  Schools  were  springing  up  and 
the  children  were  receiving  instruction  in  anti-heathen  knowledge. 
Persecutions  had  measurably  ceased.  The  reading  habits  of  the 
people  and  their  eagerness  to  learn  afforded  constant  opportunities 
to  impart  the  gospel,  while  the  number  of  native  believers  and 
Christian  churches  was  rapidly  multiplying. 

A  Sunday-school,  with  an  average  attendance  of  fifteen,  was 
organized  by  our  missionaries  November  2d,  1879,  ^'^^^  ^  weekly 
prayer-meeting  was  regularly  maintained,  out  of  which  grew  a 
weekly  meeting  for  inquirers.  Two  native  helpers,  Obato  San  and 
Suji  San,  were  assisting  in  the  work,  teaching,  exhorting,  and  aid- 
ing in  pastoral  visitation. 

Though  there  were  in  1879  a  small  number  of  inquirers,  one  or 


Chapter  XLIIL]  MISSIONS.  487 

two  of  whom  the  missionaries  thought  they  might  "justifiably  en- 
courage to  become  candidates  for  baptism,"  yet  it  was  thought 
' '  better  to  err  on  the  side  of  caution  than  of  haste  amongst  those 
having  such  low  ideas  of  the  Christian  life. " '  It  was  not  until 
September  26th,  1880,  that  the  first  converts  of  the  mission  were 
baptized.  On  that  day  two  men,  Yamamoto  San  and  Kuzze  San, 
received  this  ordinance  at  the  hands  of  the  Rev.  J.  B.  Hail,  and 
joined  the  missionaries  in  the  first  communion  service  of  this 
infant  church  in  the  city  of  Osaka.  Of  these  two  men  the  Rev.  G. 
G.  Hudson  says  in  his  late  report  as  corresponding  secretary  of  the 
mission:^ 

These  were  the  first  fruits  of  our  mission  in  Japan.  Without  special 
direction  from  their  teachers  thevse  men  consulted  together,  and  agree- 
ing that  as  they  were  the  first  members  of  this  new  church,  their  con- 
duct would  have  great  influence  with  those  who  should  join  later,  they 
sought  help  from  God  to  fit  themselves  for  their  responsible  position, 
and  promised  on  their  part  to  have  a  stated  time  for  secret  prayer,  and 
to  give  to  the  Lord  one  tenth  of  their  income.  Having  such  a  founda- 
tion, we  may  hope  that  "  all  the  building,  fitly  framed  together,  shall 
grow  unto  an  holy  temple  in  the  Lord." 

Though  the  missionaries  felt  the  importance  of  extending  the 
work  to  points  outside  of  Osaka,  and  tours  of  observation  were 
made  to  Wakayama,  Tanabe,  and  other  important  places,  the  want 
of  men  and  women  to  aid  in  the  work  prevented  them  at  that  time 
from  occupying  these  inviting  fields. 

In  the  meantime  the  mission  was  bearing  fruit  in  the  church  at 
home.  Missionary  contributions  were  greatly  increased.  The  or- 
ganization of  the  Woman's  Board  of  Foreign  Missions  grew  directly 
out  of  the  pressing  necessities  of  this  work  in  Japan.  The  mis- 
sionaries made  their  first  official  report  in  1879.     In  it  they  said: 

As  the  work  progresses  we  feel  the  indispensable  need  of  female 
helpers.  If  one  was  on  the  ground  now  and  had  a  thorough  knowl- 
edge of  the  tongue  she  would  prove  an  invaluable  adjunct  to  the  preach- 
ing place  that  is  now  opened.  .  .  .  While  the  labors  of  the  wives  of 
the  missionaries  are  manifold,  yet  there  is  a  large  field  that  can  be 
successfully  worked  only  by  young  lady  helpers.  .  .  .  The  work  ac- 
complished by  the  young  ladies  of  other  denominations  has  been  very 

»  Report  to  Assembly,  18S0,  Minutes,  p.  80.         ='Ibid.,  1887,  p.  77. 


488  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  vi. 

great.  No  denomination  can  wholly  succeed  without  them,  .  .  .  The 
time  has  come  in  the  providence  of  God  when  he  is  opening  a  great 
door  of  usefulness  to  our  Christian  women. 

In  the  same  report  it  was  suggested  that  "our  board  and  Gen- 
eral Assembly  call  on  the  ladies  of  the  church  to  organize  them- 
selves for  work,"  and  it  was  urged  that  if  possible  at  least  one 
young  lady  should  be  sent  to  Japan  the  following  autumn.  But 
as  this  suggestion  was  not,  that  year,  carried  out,  A.  D,  Hail  and 
liis  wife,  early  in  1880,  wrote  a  letter  to  the  ladies  of  our  church 
at  Evansville,  Indiana,  through  their  pastor,  the  Rev.  W.  J.  Darby, 
requesting,  inasmuch  as  the  General  Assembly  was  to  meet  in  that 
city  in  ]\Iay  of  that  year,  that  these  ladies  would  call  a  convention 
of  the  women  of  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  church  to  meet 
there  at  the  time  of  the  Assembly's  meeting  for  the  purpose  of  or- 
ganizing a  Woman's  Board  of  Missions.  The  call  was  issued  and 
the  matter  was  pressed  by  the  pastor  at  Evansville  and  the  ladies 
of  his  church.  The  convention  was  held,  and  with  the  unanimous 
approval  of  the  General  Assembly  the  Woman's  Board  was  organ- 
ized and  located  at  Evansville. 

In  1 88 1  our  missionaries  began  to  make  extended  preaching 
tours  in  the  country  south  of  Osaka,  and  the  work  was  thus  en- 
larged. An  extract  from  the  report  written  March  15th,  1881,  will 
show  what  were  at  that  time  the  arduous  duties  of  the  missionaries: 

The  work  presses  upon  us  so  that  every  member  of  the  mission 
must  labor  so  constantly  as  to  call  for  continual  care  against  overwork. 
In  addition  to  the  regular  day's  work  on  the  language,  there  are  the 
usual  labors  of  preaching,  teaching,  and  superintending.  During  the 
present  3'ear  prayer-meetings  have  been  maintained  Tuesday  and  Thurs- 
day evenings.  .  ,  .  The  average  attendance,  has  been  larger  than 
it  was  last  year.  .  .  .  The  wives  of  the  missionaries  have  also  begun 
a  woman's  prayer-meeting,  which  is  held  on  Wednesday  evening. 
.  .  .  Every  morning  also,  at  the  hour  of  family  worship,  which  is 
arranged*  with  that  end  in  view,  there  is  generallv  a  half  hour  de- 
voted to  exegesis  which  is  shared  by  several  of  the  Japanese. 
Every  evening  of  the  week  also  has  been  devoted  to  teaching  a  few 
young  men  English  and  science,  for  the  sake  of  gaining  an  influence 
over  them,  and  reaching  them  with  the  gospel  of  Christ.  One  of  the 
young  men  thus  taught  continues  to  open  his  house  every  Sabbath 
morning  for  Bible  study. 


Chapter  XLIII.]  MISSIONS.  489 

The  Sabbath  services,  preaching  and  Sunday-school,  were  kept 
up  with  growing  interest  at  the  regular  preaching  place;  and  an 
afternoon  Sunday-school  was  opened  in  another  part  of  the  city, 
where  a  preaching  service  was  held  every  Sabbath  at  4  p.  m.  ;  and 
Sabbath  evening  services  were  held  in  still  another  place.  Mainly 
through  native  helpers  the  work  had  begun  to  extend  outside  the 
city.  Services  were  kept  up  once  a  month  at  a  mountain  village 
twelve  miles  from  Osaka;  and  the  influence  of  the  mission  was 
gradually  finding  its  way  to  other  places.  Three  extensive  tours 
into  the  Province  of  Kishu  were  this  year  made  "with  the  pur- 
pose of  ascertaining  the  feasibility  of  making  it  an  out-station," 
but  in  all  these  efforts  the  mission  was  crippled  by  the  lack  of  an 
adequate  force  of  men  and  women,  and  the  want  of  means  to  pros- 
ecute the  work. 

The  need  of  a  religious,  and  especially  of  a  denominational,  lit- 
erature in  the  native  language  was  at  an  early  period  recognized. 
When  the  entire  New  Testament  was  translated  and  printed,  the 
work  of  imparting  a  knowledge  of  the  gospel  was  made  much  less 
difficult.  The  Scriptures  were  sold  everywhere,  in  shops,  on  the 
streets,  at  Christian  meetings,  and  at  heathen  festivals.  It  was  no 
unusual  thing  "  to  see  men  with  a  copy  of  the  gospels  in  one  hand, 
and  the  image  of  a  fox  or  of  Buddha  in  the  other,  returning  from 
their  religious  gatherings. ' '  In  some  cases  those  whose  only  teacher 
had  been  the  printed  word  presented  themselves  for  baptism. 

In  1 88 1  a  be2:inninQ^  in  the  matter  of  denominational  literature 
was  made.  The  Confession  of  Faith  was  translated  by  J.  B.  Hail, 
who  also  translated  the  chapter  of  Dr.  J.  R.  Brown's  "Lights 
on  the  Way,"  entitled  "The  Doctrines."  A.  D.  Hail  translated 
the  Shorter  Catechism  and  the  Catechism  for  Children.  He  also 
wrote  an  expository  tract  on  Luke  xv.,  entitled  "The  Sinner's 
Staff,"  and  a  Manual  of  Systematic  Theology.  The  mission  that 
year  issued  two  hundred  and  sixty  thousand  pages  of  printed  matter. 
Some  other  translations  and  original  works  have  since  been  pub- 
lished, but  efforts  in  this  department  have  been  much  hindered  by 
other  pressing  demands  on  the  time  and  energies  of  the  missionaries, 
as  well  as  by  the  lack  of  an  adequate  fund  to  be  used  in  the  pub- 
lication of  books. 


490  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  vi. 

A  religious  book  and  tract  store  was  opened  early  in  1881. 
While  much  religious  reading  matter  was  distributed  gratuitously, 
the  missionaries  believed  that  more  good  would  be  accomplished  by 
cheap  sales  than  by  the  indiscriminate  giving  away  of  books  and 
tracts.  In  the  succeeding  years  book  depositories  have  been  estab- 
lished in  many  places,  and  colporteurs  have  been  sent  forth.  This 
work  is  placed  in  the  hands  of  native  Christians,  who  combine  its 
duties  with  evangelistic  labors. 

November  21,  1881,  Miss  Alice  M.  Orr,  of  Missouri,  and  Miss 
Julia  Iv.  Leavitt,  of  Indiana,  the  first  two  missionaries  sent  out  by 
the  Woman's  Board,  arrived  at  Osaka.  Though  they  were  able 
immediately  to  relieve  their  fellow-missionaries  of  part  of  their 
English  teaching  work,  and  as  time  went  on  to  assist  to  some  ex- 
tent in  imparting  instruction  in  music,  sacred  geography,  and  some 
other  branches,  yet  their  time  for  the  first  three  }-ears  was  mainly 
devoted  to  the  study  of  the  language. 

A  preaching  place  was  opened  October  i,  1881,  in  a  part  of 
Osaka  hitherto  unoccupied  by  Christian  teachers.  The  native 
Christians  resolved  to  pay  the  current  expenses  of  the  services  held 
here.  They  provided  a  box  which,  in  memory  of  the  widow's  mite, 
they  called  "the  denarii  box,"  and  "hung  it  every  Sunday  in  the 
front  part  of  the  house,  so  that  the  people  might  place  in  it  their 
weekly  gifts."  Since  then  all  the  preaching  places  and  churches 
connected  with  this  mission  have  been  provided  with  denarii  boxes. 

Under  the  direction  of  Mrs.  A.  D,  Hail  a  "woman's  meeting" 
was  inaugurated  to  teach  the  Japanese  women  domestic  handi- 
work by  which  they  could  earn  money  to  assist  in  maintaining  the 
preaching  places.  These  meetings  were  well  attended  and  grew  in 
interest  and  good  results.  In  1882  the  native  membership  in- 
creased more  than  two  hundred  per  cent.  Our  half-dozen  mission- 
aries felt  themselves  inadequate  to  provide  for  the  multiplying 
demands  of  the  work.  They  pleaded  earnestly  for  re-inforcements. 
Work  "after  the  manner  of  circuit-riding  on  foot,"  had  been  pros- 
ecuted in  the  Province  of  Kishu,  and  "a  catechumenical  class" 
was  in  process  of  formation. 

All  the  converts  baptized  by  our  missionaries  in  any  part  of  the 
empire  were  at  first  enrolled  as  members  of  the  church  at  Osaka. 


Chapter  XLIII.]  MISSIONS.  49I 

This  church  raised  a  salary  and  tried  to  secure  a  native  pastor. 
Althougli  there  were  several  young  men  studying  preparatory 
to  taking  a  theological  course  no  one  among  them  was  found 
"  sufficiently  acquainted  with  theology  and  the  holy  Scriptures  to 
take  the  pastoral  oversight  of  the  flock."  This  church  "resolved 
to  sustain  its  own  preaching  place" — that  is,  to  pay  its  own  rents 
and  relieve  the  board  of  all  incidental  expenses  connected  with  the 
services.  This  enabled  the  mission  to  rent  a  new  preaching  place 
in  another  part  of  the  city.  Thus  at  the  close  of  the  year,  1882, 
there  were  in  Osaka  three  places  where  our  missionaries  main- 
tained preaching  and  Sunday-schools  regularly  every  Sabbath, 
while  private  houses  in  different  parts  of  the  city  were  opened  for 
prayer  and  other  Christian  work. 

Events  of  great  importance  to  the  cause  of  Christianity  in 
Japan  and  to  our  struggling  mission  occurred  during  the  year  1883. 
A  missionary  conference,  in  which  all  the  Protestant  missions  of 
the  empire  were  represented,  was  held  April  i6th-22d.  Delegates 
from  eighteen  foreign  societies,  and  representing  a  native  church  of 
five  thousand  communicants,  were  present.  The  report  submitted 
to  our  General  Assembly  the  next  year  says: 

The  Conference  came  together  in  the  spirit  of  prayer.  All  shades 
of  Ej^iscopacy,  all  the  various  Presbyterian  and  Methodist  bodies,  and 
different  nationalities,  came  together  in  a  oneness  of  spirit  that  pro- 
claimed the  essential  unity  of  the  body  of  Christ.  The  influence  of 
this  meeting  has  been,  and  will  continue  to  be,  felt  for  good  along  dif- 
ferent lines  of  mission  work  in  Japan.  It  will  give  a  greater  insight  into 
the  work  to  those  Christians  in  America  who  have  the  cause  of  mis- 
sions in  this  empire  in  their  hearts  and  hands,  and  give  ample  instruc- 
tion to  Mission  Boards  as  to  the  kind  of  persons  that  should  be  sent  to 
this  field,  and  of  the  best  and  wisest  method  of  dealing  with  them  so 
as  to  secure  their  greatest  efficiency  as  workers  at  a  minimum  of  ex- 
pense. 

A  still  more  important  event  was  a  general  revival  of  religion 
throughout  the  Japanese  empire.  Describing  this  revival  the  cor- 
responding secretary  of  the  mission  in  his  annual  report,  says : 

The  results  of  this  revival  have  been  such  as  to  call  forth  the  highest 
gratitude  of  all  who  have  given  to,  and  prayed  and  wrought  for,  the 
Christianization  of  Japan.     Many  of  the  churches  have  almost  doubled 


492  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  vi. 

their  membership.  The  Christian  Hfe  of  the  believers  has  been  quick- 
ened, and  has  manifested  this  quickeningr  in  a  fyreater  consecration  to 
Christian  work,  and  a  spirit  of  greater  Hberahty.  It  has  done  much  to 
eradicate  from  the  hearts  of  native  Christians  the  deep-seated  prejudice 
against  foreigners,  which  oftentimes  made  itself  felt  even  against  mis- 
sionaries. Thus  has  the  way  for  a  more  cordial  confidence  in,  and  co- 
operation with,  missionaries,  upon  the  part  of  the  native  church,  been 
opened  by  the  Spirit  of  God.  The  native  Christians  of  all  denomina- 
tions hold  a  biennial  Conference,  composed  of  delegates  representing 
the  respective  churches  in  the  land.  The  object  of  this  meeting  is  to 
consider  questions  which  relate  to  the  life  of  the  church  and  to  its  suc- 
cessful progress.  Meeting,  as  it  did  this  yeai",  in  the  wake  of  the  Mis- 
sionary Conference,  and  in  the  inception  of  the  revival  v/hich  has  been 
spreading  throughout  the  country,  the  Conference  was  converted  by  the 
Holy  Spirit  into  a  daily  and  hourly  meeting  of  incessant  praver.  At 
the  same  time,  without  preconcerted  action,  all  the  churches  in  the  vari- 
ous cities  began  daily  prayer-meetings.  The  spontaneity  of  the  move- 
ment was  so  manifest  that  none  could  question  that  the  hand  of  God 
was  directing  it.  It  was  but  natural  for  these  various  streams  of 
quickened  religious  life  to  flow  together  into  one  channel  of  Christian 
effort.  The  numerical  results,  so  far  as  conversions  are  concerned, 
while  they  have  been  very  great,  are  only  one  of  the  minor  features  of 
importance  in  this  work.  .  .  .  Our  own  little  church  has  shared  with 
all  others  in  the  precious  results.  Its  spiritual  condition  seems,  therefore, 
to  be  much  better  than  at  any  other  time  in  its  brief  history. 

This  5'ear  the  Osaka  church  selected  three  men  to  serve  six 
months  as  elders.  Their  re-election  was  made  to  depend  on  the 
ability  and  fidelity  with  which  they  performed  their  dttties.  The 
church  being  still  without  a  pastor,  these  elders  were  called  upon 
to  discharge  the  duties  of  the  pastoral  office  in  turn,  bi-monthly. 
The  members  of  the  congregation,  numbering  in  all  abotit  forty- 
seven,  were  "scattered  over  a  territory  of  about  three  hundred 
miles.  In  Osaka,  a  city  of  about  600,000  inhabitants,  there  were 
thirty-seven  members;  in  Wakayama  (out-station),  75,000  inhab- 
itants, one  member;  in  Hikata,  a  cluster  of  villages  of  5,000  inhab- 
itants, five  members;  in  Tanabe,  11,000  inhabitants,  one  member; 
in  Shingu,  8,000  inhabitants,  three  members."  In  the  beginning 
of  their  work  our  missionaries  made  it  their  aim  to  cultivate  in 
the  native  Christians  a  sense  of  responsibility  and  a  feeling  of  self- 
dependence  in  relation  to  the  financial  affairs  of  the  church,  and 


Chapter  XLIIL]  MISSIONS.  493 

the  regulation  and  management  of  other  church  interests.  The 
following  is  a  brief  statement  of  the  principles  governing  the  mis- 
sion in  its  policy: 

The  leading  idea  which  the  mission  strives  to  realize  is:  The  re- 
sponsibility of  the  native  church  for  the  conversion  of  fapan.  This  is 
the  principle  which  is  sought  to  be  made  prominent,  and  which  has 
thus  far  determined  the  missionaries'  plans  of  work.  It  has  been  their 
endeavor  to  follow  this  idea  in  defining  the  relation  of  the  foreign 
church  to  the  church  in  Japan:  (I)  It  determines  the  attitude  of  the 
foreign  missionaries  to  the  native  church  to  be  that  of  co-laborers  and 
advisers,  "as  being  helpers  of  their  joy  and  not  as  having  dominion 
over  their  faith."  While,  therefore,  they  are  here  as  members  of  a 
church  that  has  a  polity  and  system  of  doctrine  of  its  own,  yet  they  do 
not  seek  to  impose  these  things  upon  the  converts  by  any  exercise  of 
authority.  They  encourage  any  movements  on  their  part  toward  any 
kind  of  union  with  their  native  brethren,  which  will  aid  them  most  ef- 
fectively in  carrying  out  the  responsibility  which  devolves  upon  them — 
that  is,  any  union  within  essentially  orthodox  doctrine  and  liberal  forms 
of  church  government.  (II)  The  missionaries  have  tried  to  regulate 
the  use  of  foreign  money  for  native  purposes  upon  the  same  principle. 
Believing  that  the  practice  of  self-sacrifice  and  a  sense  of  personal  re- 
sponsibility are  essential  to  the  cultivation  of  a  true  missionary  spirit, 
the  use  of  foreign  money  has  not  been  encouraged.  When  used,  it  has 
been  as  an  exception  only.  The  mission,  therefore,  has  no  schedule  of 
salaries  of  native  heljoers,  no  definite  rules  as  to  aid  granted  to  those 
desiring  to  be  educated  as  evangelists  or  lay  workers.  In  cases  where 
aid  is  granted,  other  than  directly  evangelistic  work  is  required  as  a 
compensation — that  is,  they  must  pay  back  to  the  mission  monies  ex- 
pended upon  them  by  the  mission.  When  it  is  necessary  to  hire 
preaching  places  in  neighborhoods  where  no  Christians  live,  the  na- 
tive brethren  are  expected  to  aid  in  the  financial  maintainance  of  such 
stations.  In  localities  where  there  are  native  Christians,  they  are  en- 
couraged to  rent  a  small  preaching  place  within  their  own  means, 
sometimes  aided  by  private  contributions  from  the  missionarv,  or  else  to 
open  their  own  houses.  (HI)  The  same  formative  idea  we  expect  to 
be  governed  by  in  any  other  phase  of  the  work  which  may  arise.  Our 
experience  in  the  work,  as  thus  conducted,  encoui'ages  us  to  hope  with 
reference  to  ultimate  results.  Our  experience  thus  far  may  prove  to  be 
only  the  inexperience  of  a  young  mission,  yet  we  shall  continue  to  fol- 
low out  this  principle,  subject  to  further  light. 

This  outline  was  written  for  the  Osaka  Conference  in  the  latter 
part  of  the  year  1882,  by  A.  D.  Hail,  corresponding  secretary  of  the 


494  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  vi. 

mission.  The  test  of  experience  in  the  years  which  have  followed 
has  demonstrated  the  soundness  of  the  principle  thus  laid  down, 
and  the  wisdom  of  the  policy  growing  out  of  it.  The  native 
Christians  have  shown  an  increasing  disposition  to  sustain  their  own 
churches,  and  to  extend  help  to  new  places.  Their  missionary 
gifts  in  1882  equaled  thirty-seven  cents  for  each  member,  and  the 
year  following  more  than  fifty  cents  per  member.  In  1884  the 
total  collections  for  all  purposes  reached  an  amount  equal  to  six 
dollars  for  each  member.  When  we  remember  that  these  people 
make  their  contributions  out  of  their  poverty,  that  one  hundred 
and  fifty  dollars  a  year  is  counted  a  large  income,  that  many  earn 
almost  nothing,  and  that  the  average  pay  of  those  who  have  regu- 
lar employment  or  business  is  not  more  than  eight  dollars  per 
month,  we  see  that  they  show  a  willingness  to  give,  far  in  advance 
of  that  shown  by  the  church  at  home. 

Nor  has  the  policy  of  our  mission,  in  allowing  the  Japanese 
Christians  freedom  in  choosing  their  own  methods  of  work  and  rules 
of  government,  been  attended  with  any  evil  results.  The  regula- 
tions adopted  have  sometimes  been  more  strict  and  wholesome  than 
those  enforced  at  home.  For  instance,  we  have  this  item  in  the 
report  for  the  year  1882:  "The  native  brethren  have  established  a 
rule  that  persons  not  well  known  must  wait  at  least  two  months 
after  their  application  before  receiving  baptism."  "This,"  says 
the  corresponding  secretar}'-,  "has  doubtless  saved  us  from  some 
mistakes."'  A  report  made  three  years  later  informs  us  that  "The 
[native]  church  takes  very  aggressive  ground  in  regard  to  the  use 
of  wine  and  tobacco.  While  it  has  made  no  formal  utterances  up- 
on these  subjects,  yet  the  use  of  such  things  by  non-Christians  has 
such  associations  that  persons  coming  into  the  church  naturally 
feel  that  such  habits  should  be  renounced  as  being  inconsistent 
with  Christian  character.  We  have  not  been  very  solicitous  to 
correct  such  an  impression."'' 

]\Irs.  A.  ISI.  Drennan,  the  third  missionary  sent  by  the  Woman's 
Board,  reached  Japan  May  4,  1883.  Early  in  1882  the  missionaries 
had  called  on  this  board  to  take  steps  to  lay  the  foundation  of  a 
girl's  school  and  orphanage  in  Osaka.     No  Protestant  orphanage 

'Assembly's  Minutes,  1SS2,  p.  66.        'Minutes,  1885,  p.  81. 


Chapter  XLIII.]  MISSIONS.  495 

had  at  that  time  been  established  in  that  part   of   Japan.     The 
Woman's  Board  was  asked  to  send  an  educated  lad}-,  one  with  expe- 
rience in  the  care  of  a  household,  joined  to  ability  to  teach  and  a 
motherly  tact  and  judgment  in  looking  after  the  welfare  of  the 
young,  to  aid  in  this  work.      In  response  to  this  call,   the  board 
equipped  and  sent  forth  Mrs.  Drennan,  contributing  also  three  thou- 
sand dollars  to  furnish  buildings  for  the  proposed  school  and  or- 
phanage.    A  lot  and  buildings  were  secured  in  the  Foreign  Con- 
cession, and  the  school  was  opened  w4th  four  pupils,  Januar}^  8 
1884.     It  has  since  been  known  as  the  Wilmina  school.     By  June 
1884,  it  had  seventeen  pupils.     At  the  beginning  of  the  year  1886 
the   attendance   was  forty-one,  with  an  enrollment  of  fifty-nine, 
This  school  is  divided  into  three  grades,  the  primary,  intermediate 
and  advanced.     The  studies,  with  but  few  exceptions,  are  the  same 
as  those  pursued  in  similar  schools  at  home.     Japanese  composition 
and  history  are  taught,  and  the  Bible  is  a  daily  text-book  in  all  the 
grades.     The  first  year  six  of  the  pupils  joined  the    church,  and 
others  were  awaiting  baptism.     There  were  sixty  pupils  at  the  be- 
ginning of  the  year  1887.     In  December,  1886,  there  were  three 
graduates  who  have  since  taken  their  places  as  teachers  and  help- 
ers in  missionary^  work.     With  money  furnished  by  the  Woman's 
Board,  a  new  building  has  recently  been  erected  for  this  school. 

In  addition  to  her  regular  work  Mrs.  Drennan  has  kept  up  daily 
and  weekly  classes  for  young  men.  Out  of  these  has  grown  a 
Young  Men's  Christian  Endeavor  Society  with  forty-five  members. 
Through  Mrs.  Drennan' s  influence  and  under  her  direction  a  Jap- 
anese branch  of  the  Chautauqua  Literary  and  Scientific  Circle  has 
been  organized,  which  in  1887  numbered  fourteen  hundred  mem- 
bers. She  also  instructs  a  class  composed  of  the  wives  of  govern- 
ment officers  "in  English,  the  Bible,  and  household  duties." 

The  year  1884  was  one  of  great  fruitfulness  in  other  departments 
of  the  work.  The  attitude  of  the  people  and  the  government  was 
undergoing  a  change  favorable  to  the  propagation  of  Christianity. 
Men  of  prominence  were  beginning  to  appreciate  the  benefits  of  the 
new  faith.  The  people  were  ready  and  eager  to  hear  the  gospel. 
The  impetus  given  the  work  by  the  revival  of  the  preceding  year 
was  not  checked,  but  steadily  increasing  in  beneficial  results.     One 


496  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  vi. 

of  the  emperor's  privy  council  had  petitioned  the  government  to 
employ  Christian  teachers,  and  give  instruction  in  Christian  mor- 
als in  all  the  schools  from  the  Imperial  University  down.  Another 
prominent  man,  "as  the  result  of  his  investigations  abroad,  memo- 
rialized the  emperor  in  behalf  of  the  introduction  of  Christianity." 
China  and  other  Eastern  countries  were  catching  glimpses  of  the 
light  shed  abroad  in  Japan.  Of  Corea  the  report  made  at  the  close 
of  this  year  says: 

The  "Hermit  Nation"  (Corea),  so  recently  opened  for  commerce 
to  the  Western  Powers  through  the  successful  negotiations  of  Commo- 
dore Shufeldt,  is  looking  upon  the  movements  in  Japan  with  profound 
interest.  A  few  days  ago  that  government  sent  one  of  its  learned  men 
(its  historian)  to  this  land  in  order  to  investigate  its  condition  since  the 
introduction  of  Western  arts  and  sciences.  This  man,  Rijutei,  became 
a  Christian,  and  is  now  employed  by  the  American  Bible  Society  in 
translating  the  gospel  into  his  native  language.  The  account  of  his 
conversion  and  work,  as  given  by  the  agent  of  that  society,  is  full  of 
interest.  While  investigating  the  subject  of  Christianity,  he  dreamed 
that  two  men  appeared  who  offered  him  books,  and  he  was  told  that 
these  were  the  most  useful  of  all  things  for  his  people.  When  it  was 
asked,  "What  books  are  they?  "  it  was  replied,  "These  are  Bibles."  So 
deeply  impressed  was  the  man  by  his  dream,  and  also  by  the  truths  he 
heard,  that  he  soon  became  a  Christian,  and  from  that  time  has  been 
earnestly  at  work  for  the  salvation  of  his  people.  His  growth  in  grace 
and  in  knowledge  of  God's  word  has  been  marked  and  rapid.  Through 
his  labors  several  other  Coreans  have  become  Christians.  Some  of 
these  are  students  in  some  of  the  Tokio  Mission  Schools,  preparatory  to 
work  amongst  their  own  people.  A  number  of  other  prominent  Co- 
reans, in  this  country  for  temporary  residence,  have  applied  to  him  to 
be  taught  the  doctrines  of  Christ.  Certainly  in  all  this  there  is  such  a 
prophecy  of  what  might  be  in  regard  to  the  evangelization  of  other 
Eastern  nations  by  the  help  of  a  Christian  Japan,  as  to  stimulate  the 
Church  in  Christian  lands  to  devise  more  liberal  things  for  the  speedy 
conversion  of  her  people. 

The  preaching  of  our  missionaries  \vas  this  year  attended  with 
gracious  results.  In  February  the  Osaka  church  perfected  its 
organization.  Two  other  churches,  one  at  Kuroye  (Hikata),  a 
village  near  Wakayama,  and  the  other  at  Shingu,  "the  extremest 
point  of  the  province  of  Kishu,"  one  hundred  and  ninety  miles 
from  Osaka,  were  regularly  organized,  the  former  ]\Iay  the  nth, 


c^hapter  XLIIL]  MISSIONS.  407 

and  the  latter  the  month  following.  The  report  of  the  Corre- 
sponding Secretary  of  the  mission  in  the  Minutes  of  the  General 
Assembly  for  1887,  gives  an  account  of  the  origin  of  these  and 
other  Japanese  churches,  illustrating  "God's  power  to  use  appar- 
ently trivial  events  to  produce  great  results." 

The  work  at  Hikata  began  with  one  man  who,  having  heard 
something  of  Christianity,  asked  a  missionary  of  the  American 
Board  for  preaching.  This  missionary  repeated  the  request  to  J. 
B,  Hail.  "As  the  interest  deepened,  the  local  priest  became 
alarmed,  and  circulated  a  pledge  against  hearing  Christianity 
taught,  and  against  having  even  business  relations  with  Christians. 
One  man  refused  to  sign  the  pledge,  saying  that  Christians  were  the 
principal  purchasers  of  their  manufactures — lacquer  work.  On 
inquiry,  a  number  of  Bible  readers  were  found  in  the  village,  and 
these  formed  the  '  Society  of  Brotherly  Love '  for  Bible  study. 
The  meetings  were  at  first  secret,  though  largely  attended."  Thus 
the  church  grew  up. 

The  history  of  the  work  at  Shingu  still  more  strikingly  shows 
how  the  truth  in  the  heart  of  one  Christian  proved  the  seed  of  a 
church : 

Some  years  ago  a  man  living  at  Shingu  sent  his  sister  to  a  Girls' 
School  of  the  American  Board  at  Osaka.  She  became  a  Christian,  and 
on  returning  home  and  observing  the  rules  of  a  godly  life  was  greatly 
persecuted  by  her  relatives.  To  spend  the  Sabbath  in  a  Christian-like 
manner,  she  was  compelled  to  retire  to  the  mountains,  where  she  spent 
the  day  in  reading  and  prayer.  Some  time  after  this  Yamamoto  San 
was  preaching  through  that  province,  dependirig  wholly  upon  Provi- 
dence for  his  support.  He  reached  Shingu  late  at  night  without  monev 
or  acquaintances,  and  weary  with  his  march  through  mud  and  rain. 
He  met  a  man  who  proved  to  be  the  brother  of  the  girl  referred  to,  and 
who  inquired  his  name  and  business.  When  told  that  the  traveler  was 
a  teacher  of  the  religion  of  Jesus,  he  invited  him  to  his  own  house,  say- 
ing that  he  wished  to  learn  of  that  way.  From  this  grew  the  Shingu 
church. 

The  church  at  Mitani  Mura,  a  village  nine  miles  from  Waka- 
yama,  was  also  temporarily  organized  in  1884.     A  young  man  from 
one  of  the  families  of  the  village  went  to  America  to  seek  his  for- 
tune.    "His  father  warned  him  expressly  against  the  Christian 
32 


498  CUMBIiRLAND    PRKSBYTERIAN    HISTOK.Y.  [Period   VI. 

religion,  and  was  enraged  to  find  on  liis  son's  return  that  he  had 
become  a  Christian.  The  son  patiently  endured  his  father's  wrath 
until  he  could  be  heard  in  explanation  of  his  course,  when  the  father 
became  interested  and  afterward  a  believer.  The  first  baptism  was 
administered  in  1884."  The  church  at  that  place  in  1886  reported 
a  membership  of  thirty-two. 

The  history  of  the  two  churches  organized  in  1885,  one  in  \Va- 
kayama  and  the  other  at  Tanabe,  is  equally  interesting.  The 
events  which  led  to  the  formation  of  the  Wakayama  church  are 
thus  briefly  stated: 

A  youth  went  from  that  city  to  America,  and  there  became  a  Chris- 
tian. He  wrote  to  his  mother  of  the  new-found  faith,  and  so  taught  its 
principles  and  encouraged  her  that  she  also  became  a  believer.  He  was 
anxious  for  her  to  have  a  teacher,  and  learning  from  an  Osaka  friend 
whom  he  met  in  San  Francisco  that  a  Mr.  Hail  taught  in  Wakayama, 
he  wrote  the  missionary  requesting  him  to  visit  the  mother.  When  the 
request  was  complied  with,  it  was  found  that  she  had  been  praying  for 
a  teacher.  After  a  satisfactory  examination  the  mother  was  baptized, 
and  partook  of  the  Lord's  Supper  with  the  missionary  and  his  helper. 

The  membership  at  this  place  is  now  fift}'-nine,  and  the  Sunday- 
school  numbers  one  hundred  and  sixty-two.  The  church  supports 
a  day  school  of  more  than  one  hundred  pupils. 

At  Tanabe  J.  B.  Hail  began  visiting  in  1881.  "After  a  year 
or  two  there  were  many  reading  the  Scriptures,  but  all  seemed 
waiting  for  some  one  to  make  the  first  profession  of  faith.  On  a 
certain  occasion  the  missionary  and  his  helper  were  especially  bur- 
dened for  visible  results  in  their  work,  and  without  revealing  to 
each  other  the  unusual  anxiety  felt,  they  separated  for  secret 
prayer.  Upon  returning  to  the  hotel  they  met  a  man  who  offered 
himself  for  baptism."  The  church  thus  begun  reports  a  member- 
ship of  forty-seven. 

We  will  get  a  better  idea  of  the  importance  of  these  mission 
churches  as  centers  of  influence  if  we  remember  that  Osaka  is  the 
' '  chief  commercial  center  of  Japan ;  Wakayama,  forty  miles  from 
Osaka,  the  largest  city  of  its  entire  province  and  of  its  contiguous 
southern  provinces;  while  Tanabe  and  Shingu  are  respectively 
the  sources  of  supply  and  trade  for  several  valleys  of  populous  vil- 


Chapter  XLIII.]  MISSIONS.  499 

lages.  In  the  first-named  city  are  five  different  Protestant  bodies, 
besides  the  Roman  and  Greek  Catholic  churches.  In  Wakayama 
the  American  Episcopal  and  Cumberland  Presbyterian  missiona- 
ries, and  Greek  Catholic  and  Roman  Catholic  church  are  at  work ; 
while  in  the  rest  of  that  and  the  adjoining  state,  our  missionaries 
alone  are  engaged. ' ' ' 

Two  churches  were  built  during  the  year  1884,  one  at  Shingu 
and  the  other  at  Osaka.  Work  on  the  former  was  commenced 
when  the  number  of  baptized  believers  in  the  town  was  only  four, 
and  none  of  them  well  to  do  in  the  world.  The  report  adds:  "Yet 
God,  who  always  honors  faith  in  him,  blessed  them  with  hearts  to 
expect  great  things  from  him  and  to  undertake  great  things  for 
him.  The  people  of  the  village  came  generously  to  their  aid,  and 
a  handsome  little  church  was  built  and  dedicated.'"' 

The  Osaka  church  was  dedicated  in  October,  1884.  The  con- 
gregations at  Tanabe  and  Wakayama  have  since  built  houses  of 
worship.  The  other  churches  rent  their  preaching  places.  Up 
to  1887  none  of  these  churches  had  pastors,  because  none  of  the 
native  preachers  had  attained  to  the  standard  of  qualification  which 
was  thought  necessary.  The  elders  and  leading  members  assume 
the  duties  and  responsibilities  of  pastoral  work. 

In  October,  1884,  the  several  churches,  three  of  which  had  up 
to  that  time  been  formally  organized,  appointed  delegates  to  meet 
with  the  Osaka  church  to  take  steps  for  a  better  organization. 
"They  were  in  session  about  one  week,  and  considered  such  topics 
as  Form  of  Government,  Confession  of  Faith,  Missions,  and  Edu- 
cational Work.  The  missionaries  were  called  on  occasionally  for 
advice,  but  sustained  to  them  no  other  than  an  advisory  relation." 
They  organized  themselves  into  a  temporary  body  to  meet  semi- 
annually, arranging  to  have  representatives  from  the  elders  and 
brethren  of  the  several  churches  until  they  should  be  supplied 
with  pastors  and  be  able  to  form  a  presbytery.  3  These  meetings 
are  still  held  regularly,  and  the  body  made  up  of  the  assembled 
delegates  is  dignified  with  the  title  of  presbytery.'* 

The  apprenticeship  of  ]\Iiss  Orr  and  Miss  Leavitt  in  language 

'Report  in  Assembly's  Minutes,  1SS6,  p.  89.         ^Minutes,  18S5.  p.  80. 
sAssembly's  Minutes,  1885,  p.  So.        *  Minutes,  1S87,  p.  79, 


5(X)  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.      [Period  vi. 

study  and  other  preparatory  work  had  in  1884  proceeded  far  enough 
to  enable  them  to  enter  regularly  upon  their  missionary  labors. 
Miss  Orr  at  first  devoted  herself  to  work  amongst  the  women  in  the 
out-stations  in  the  province  of  Kishu,  while  Miss  Leavitt  engaged 
in  similar  work  in  Osaka.  Both  these  young  ladies  have  proven 
most  efficient  and  consecrated  v/orkers.  Miss  Orr  obtained  a  per- 
mit from  the  government  to  live  for  three  years  at  Wakayama, 
with  freedom  to  travel  through  the  province  at  will.  When  Miss 
Bettie  A.  Duffield,  of  Missouri,  the  fourth  missionary  sent  by  the 
Woman's  Board,  reached  Japan,  April  24,  1885,  the  church  at  Wa- 
kayama secured  permission  for  her,  also,  to  live  in  that  city  three 
years.  While  studying  the  language  she  was  associated  with  Miss 
Orr  in  a  co-educational  English  day  school,  which  was  opened  by 
the  Wakayama  church  in  November,  1885.  This  school,  which  is 
established  on  a  thoroughly  Christian  basis,  and  which  is  "exclu- 
sively under  the  control  and  management  of  the  native  Christians," 
had,  besides  Miss  Orr  and  Miss  Duffield,  three  native  teachers. 
The  number  of  its  pupils  grew  from  forty  in  1885,  to  one  hundred 
and  twenty  at  the  close  of  1886.  During  the  latter  year  this  school 
was  "so  approved  by  the  government  officials  that  they  proposed 
to  give  a  new  school  building,  pay  the  salary  of  two  English  teach- 
ers, and  continue  the  management  as  a  Christian  school,"  if  Miss 
Orr  and  Miss  Duffield  would  devote  three  hours  instead  of  an  hour 
and  a  half  daily  to  teaching  in  it.  This  proposition  was  referred 
to  the  mission. 

Miss  Orr's  work  has  not  been  confined  to  this  school,  or  to  Wa- 
kayama. She  visits  other  places,  conducting  Bible  meetings  for 
women,  holding  prayer-meetings,  and  instructing  inquirers.  In 
1S87  she  reported  "two  growing  classes,  respectively  twenty  and 
ten  miles  from  Wakayama,  at  Yuwasa  and  Iwada."  At  Yuwasa, 
where  the  class  numbered  twenty  men  and  women,  it  was  expected 
that  a  church  would  soon  be  organized. '  In  a  published  letter  she 
gives  the  following  account  of  the  origin  of  this  work: 

One  young  man  spent  a  month  of  successful  work  at  Yuwasa. 
During  his  stay,  a  party  of  about  twelve  Christians  from  here  went  to 
the  town  and  held  a  large  meeting  in  a  theater,  with  an  audience  of 

'  Minutes  of  Assembly,  1S87,  p.  86. 


Chapter  XLIII.]  MISSIONS.  50I 

about  five  hundred  most  attentive  and  quiet  people.  Many  school 
teachers  and  officials  came  to  the  hotel  to  ask  us  more  minutely  the 
way.     Many  desire  to  have  Christianity. 

Speaking  further  of  the  missionary  labors  of  these  Wakayama 
converts,  Miss  Orr  says: 

The  young  men  took  turns  in  going  to  a  village,  about  two  miles 
out,  one  night  in  every  week,  and  have  met  with  still  more  encourage- 
ment. Two  of  the  women  have  gone  often  to  still  another  village,  some 
eight  miles  away,  and  two  or  three  persons  there  have  received  bap- 
tism as  the  result,  and  a  church  is  about  to  be  organized.  In  conse- 
quence of  this  mission  work,  the  Wakayama  church  is  growing 
stronger  in  numbers  and  in  spirit. 

Miss  Leavitt's  labors  in  the  city  of  Osaka  included  "house  to 
house  visitation  of  women,  conducting  women's  meetings,  cate- 
chetical teaching  in  the  ragged  school,  .  .  .  explaining  the  gospel 
of  Luke  in  the  woman's  theological  class,"  and  "giving  lessons  in 
foreign  handiwork."  In  March,  1885,  she  began  work  among  the 
women  of  the  interior  at  Shingu  and  Tanabe  and  other  places.  In 
May,  1885,  two  schools,  one  for  boys  and  one  for  girls,  were  opened 
by  the  church  at  Shingu.  A.  D.  Hail  and  his  wife  spent  the  sum- 
mer there,  and  assisted  the  native  church  in  this  work.  Miss 
Leavitt's  work  now  permanently  embraces  the  churches  at  Tanabe 
and  Shingu.  She  spent  much  of  the  summer  of  1886  at  Shingu, 
where  she  filled  "the  varied  positions  of  teacher,  adviser,  class 
director,  and  Christian  friend."  Of  this  summer's  work  she  says: 
"It  was  the  hottest,  busiest,  happiest  time  I  ever  spent  in  Japan." 
Of  a  class  of  five  young  men,  all  but  one  joined  the  church. 
These  with  eleven  others  made  up  the  largest  number  ever  bap- 
tized at  one  time  in  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  church  in  Japan. 

Besides  the  Wilmina  school  at  Osaka,  which  is  supported  by 
the  mission,  and  the  English  day  schools  supported  by  the  churches 
at  Wakayama  and  Shingu,  a  kindergarten  is  maintained  by  the 
church  at  Tanabe.  There  is  also  a  ragged  school  at  Osaka,  in  a 
district  full  of  pauperism,  and  free  night  schools  at  Osaka  and 
Wakayama,  Classes  and  night  schools  are  kept  up  also  at  other 
places. 

Several  young  men  who  have  been  won  to  Christianity  by  our 


503  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  vi. 

missionaries  are  studying  in  America.  One  of  these  is  INIiyoslii 
San,  who  has  been  in  Cumberland  University,  Lebanon,  Tennessee, 
since  September,  1884.  He  graduated  in  the  literary  department 
of  that  institution,  and  expects  to  finish  the  theological  course  in 
1888,  and  afterward  to  devote  himself  to  Christian  work  in  his 
native  land. 

In  May,  1886,  sixteen  members  of  the  Osaka  congregation  re- 
ceived permission  from  the  "Presbytery"  to  take  steps  looking  to 
the  formal  organization  of  a  second  church  in  the  city.  Counting 
this  second  church,  there  are  now  seven  congregations  under  the 
care  of  the  Japan  mission,  viz. :  Osaka,  First  and  Second  churches, 
Wakayama,  Hikata,  Mitani  Mura,  Tanabe,  and  Shingu.  At  the 
close  of  the  year  1886  the  total  membership  was  275,  and  there 
were  302  pupils  in  the  Sunday-schools.  During  that  year  there 
were  157  baptisms.  The  growth  of  the  church  is  indicated  by  the 
number  in  communion  at  the  close  of  each  year  since  the  first  two 
young  men  were  baptized,  September  26,  1880.  In  1880  there 
were  3  members;  in  1881,  8;  in  1882,  27;  in  1883,  47;  in  1884,  124; 
in  1885,  208;  in  1886,  275. 

In  December,  1876,  the  Rev.  George  G.  Hudson  and  wife,  and 
Miss  Rena  Rezner,  all  of  Illinois,  arrived  in  Japan  to  join  the  mis- 
sion. Miss  Rezner  is  the  fifth  missionary  sent  by  the  Woman's 
Board,  and  is  associated  with  Mrs.  Drennan  in  the  Wilmina  school. 
A.  D.  Hail,  accompanied  by  his  family,  is  now  (September,  1887) 
in  America  on  sick  leave. 

Composing  this  mission  there  are  eleven  persons  besides  chil- 
dren. The  whole  list  is  as  follows:  J.  B.  Hail  and  wife,  A.  D.  Hail 
and  wife.  Miss  Alice  M.  Orr,  Miss  Julia  A.  Leavitt,  Mrs.  A.  M. 
Drennan,  Miss  Bettie  A.  Duffield,  George  G.  Hudson  and  wife,  and 
Miss  Rena  Rezner.  All  these,  except  Miss  Orr  and  Miss  Dufiield, 
reside  at  Osaka,  on  the  Foreign  Concession.  The  need  of  additional 
missionaries  is  very  great.  From  the  first  and  through  all  the 
years  the  force  has  been  inadequate  to  meet  the  ever-increasing 
demands  and  opportunities  of  the  work. 

It  was  a  great  gain  to  the  church  when  it  at  last  had  its  own 
successful  missionaries  in  the  foreign  field  under  the  direction  of 
its  own  board.     This  was  necessary  to  awaken  the  activity  and  call 


Chapter  XLIIL]  MISSIONS.  503 

out  the  strength  of  the  church.  Up  to  1845,  when  our  General 
Board  of  Missions  was  first  organized,  and  for  a  number  of  years 
afterward,  "Cumberland  Presbyterians  were  accustomed  to  make 
their  contributions  abroad,  except  what  was  appropriated  to  Indian 
missions,  through  the  American  Board.  The  members  of  the  Pres- 
byterian church  did  the  same  until  the  inauguration  of  their  For- 
eign Mission  Board  in  1833."'  From  1810  till  the  present  time 
two  young  ladies  and  one  married  couple  are  the  only  Cumberland 
Presbyterians  who  have  gone  to  a  foreign  field  under  the  American 
Board.  But  these  did  not  bring  the  work  home  to  the  hearts  of 
our  people.  The  Indian  work  under  our  own  board  called  forth  a 
hundred-fold  more  interest.  The  American  Board  and  its  mission- 
aries were  to  Cumberland  Presbyterians  telescopic,  like  the  far- 
away splendors  of  the  fixed  stars.  But  now  the  case  is  different. 
When  our  own  familiar  acquaintances,  our  brothers  and  sisters  and 
sons  and  daughters,  go  forth,  and  are  supported  by  our  own  gifts, 
the  heroism  begins  to  enter  our  own  homes.  Our  young  men  and 
women  begin  to  ask.  If  these  can  go  and  be  missionaries,  why  may 
not  we  also  ?  The  stirring  power  of  a  heroic  example  right  in  our 
homes  is  far  more  precious  than  all  our  money.  It  is  that  which 
the  church  needs.  If  every  large  congregation  had  its  own  mis- 
sionary sent  from  its  own  Sunday-school  to  some  foreign  field,  and 
not  only  sustained  this  missionary,  but  kept  up  constant  corre- 
spondence with  him,  the  results  would  far  outweigh  all  the  money 
ever  given  to  missions.  The  children  in  such  a  Sunday-school 
would  receive  new  impulses  toward  nobler  things.  Selfishness  and 
worldliness  would  be  rebuked.  Pastors  would  find  their  hands 
strengthened  in  every  effort  they  make  against  worldliness,  and 
every  appeal  to  nobler  impulses  would  m^et  with  increased  success. 
Our  own  missionaries  under  our  own  board,  in  the  very  nature  of 
the  case,  come  nearer  to  our  own  people.  Their  work  and  their 
support  become  a  part  of  the  work  of  every  congregation. 

Our  women's  missionary  societies  over  the  whole  church  are  in 
correspondence  with  our  own  missionaries  in  Japan.  A  letter  from 
some  of  these  missionaries  is  read  at  almost  every  meeting  of  our 

'Address  of  the  Rev.  C.  H.  Bell,  D.D.,  before  the  Missouri  Cumberland  Presby- 
terian Sunday-school  Assembly,  at  Pertle  Springs,  August,  1887. 


504  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  vi. 

numerous  societies  and  children's   bands.     Thus  the  missionary 
spirit  is  everywhere  kept  alive. 

While  Cumberland  Presbyterians  have  found  so  great  a  gain 
growing  out  of  their  own  independent  missionary  work,  they  are 
not  opposed  to  the  closest  possible  co-operation  with  other  churches 
in  the  foreign  field.  On  this  subject  the  General  Assembly  of  1885 
unanimously  adopted  the  following  declaration: 

We  believe  union  on  the  foreign  mission  field  is  desirable,  and  will 
cheerfully  enter  into  whatever  measures  may  seem  best  looking  to  that 
end.  Instead  of  transferring  our  differences  to  mission  lands,  we  would 
join  our  sister  denominations  in  the  plan  of  establishing  one  Presbyte- 
rian church  in  each  mission  field.  We  regard  it  as  very  desirable,  if  not 
essential,  to  formulate  a  short  and  simple  yet  comprehensive  creed  in 
harmony  with  and  containing  the  essential  d  )ctrines  held  by  the 
churches  composing  the  Alliance,  the  same  to  be  used  in  ordaining 
native  mmisters,  elders,  and  deacons. 

By  the  Assembly  of  1887  this  action  was  re-affirmed.  Full 
confidence  in  our  missionaries  and  in  the  native  members  of  the 
churches  organized  and  trained  by  them  was  expressed.  "The 
conducting  of  negotiations  for  union  with  other  Presbyterian 
churches  in  Japan"  was  therefore  intrusted  to  these  missionaries 
and  native  Christians,  with  the  stipulation  "that  in  any  basis  of 
union  that  might  be  agreed  upon  they  were  to  be  careful  to  pre- 
serve untrammeled  their  privilege  to  hold  and  teach  such  views 
of  the  holy  Scriptures  as  are  peculiar  to  the  Cumberland  Presby- 
terian church."  It  was  provided,  also,  that  if  such  a  union  was 
entered  into,  the  missionaries  of  our  board  were  to  continue  under 
its  direction  in  their  work,  and  to  receive  support  from  its  funds; 
and  that  these  missionaries,  while  holding  their  ecclesiastical  rela- 
tions with  the  union  church  in  Japan,  were  to  be  "recognized  in 
all  other  respects  as  belonging  to  us,  and  when  in  this  country'  and 
present  at  the  General  Assembly  or  other  judicatures,  to  be  entitled 
to  seats  as  advisor}^  members."  On  all  parts  of  the  field  in  all 
periods  of  its  history  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  church  has 
given  its  utterances  in  an  uneq^iivocal  tone  in  favor  of  the  utmost 
practicable  union  of  evangelical  denominations. 

The-long-talked-of,  long-delayed  mission  to  IVIexico  was  regu- 
larly opened  in  1886.     The  Rev.  A.  H.  Whatley,  of  Texas,  who  was 


Chapter  XLIII.]  MISSIONS. 


505 


graduated  from  the  Theological  School  of  Cumberland  Univer- 
sity, June,  1885,  was  appointed  missionary.  He  was  set  apart  for 
this  work  January  10,  1886,  at  Lebanon,  Tennessee.  He  soon  after 
proceeded  to  Mexico,  where  he  spent  fourteen  months  "in  prepar- 
atory work,  the  stud}'  of  the  language,  the  people,  and  the  field." 
At  first  he  lived  at  Chihuahua,  the  capital  of  the  State  of  the  same 
name.  He  was  sent  with  instructions  from  the  board  ' '  to  study 
well  the  situation,  and  take  ample  time  for  deciding  both  as  to 
where  and  how  the  work  should  be  begun."  "After  careful  inves- 
tigation during  several  months,  Aguas  Calientes  was  selected  as  the 
place  for  establishing  the  first  Cumberland  Presbyterian  church  in 
Mexico."  This  is  a  city  of  thirty-five  thousand  inhabitants,  situ- 
ated about  two  hundred  and  eighty-five  miles  north-west  of  the 
City  of  Mexico.  It  has  seven  Roman  Catholic  churches,  but  no 
Protestant  church,  and  is  "one  of  the  neediest  fields  in  Mexico.  ' 
The  missionary  advised  the  board  to  purchase  property  for  a  church, 
and  to  establish  a  school.  Illustrating  the  importance  of  beginning 
the  work  in  this  way,  he  said  in  a  letter  to  the  board: 

In  this  countiy  the  missionary  has  to  meet  the  peoole  piincipalh'^  in 
a  public  place.  The  customs  of  the  country  will  not  admit  of  his  visit- 
ing from  house  to  house,  even  among  the  poorer  classes,  until  he  is 
acquainted  with  them.  One  does  not  easily  get  acquainted  with  a  peo- 
ple some  of  whom  make  the  sign  of  the  cross  when  he  merely  passes 
the  window,  that  they  may  be  delivered  from  the  power  of  the  devil, 
whose  servant  he  is  supposed  to  be.  There  are  many  people  whose 
curiosity  would  lead  them  to  church,  whom  nothing  could  induce  to 
enter  a  place  of  worship  in  a  private  house.  .  .  .  These  people  are 
much  more  scrupulous  about  these  things  than  we  are.  They  have 
been  accustomed  to  magnificent  churches,  and  many  of  them  look  with 
contempt  on  the  feeble  beginnings  of  a  Protestant  mission.  .  .  .  The 
board  is  right,  too,  in  its  policy  of  establishing  a  school  in  connection 
with  the  mission.  The  importance  of  this  branch  of  the  work  can 
hardly  be  overestimated.  The  Mexicans  are  very  anxious  to  have  their 
children  study  English.  This  interest  in  our  language  will  furnish 
pupils  for  our  school. 

The  Board  of  Missions,  in  its  report,  May,  1887,  says  of  this 
work : 

Our  missionary  to  Mexico,  the  Rev.  A.  H.  Whatley,  has  already 
acquired  a  sufiicient  knowledge  of  the  SjDanish  language  to  enable  him 


5o6  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  vi. 

to  speak  and  to  preach  to  the  people  in  their  native  tongue.  He  re- 
cently returned  to  the  United  States  and  took  a  wife,  a  devout  Chris- 
tian, intelligent  and  resolute,  who  will  henceforth  share  his  labors  and 
rewards.  Property  suitable  for  a  chapel  and  a  school  will  be  bought  at 
as  early  a  date  as  practicable.  A  portion  of  the  needed  funds  has  been 
contributed  by  individuals.  The  Woman's  Board,  ever  prompt  and 
cordial  in  co-operating  WMth  your  board  in  aggressive  movements,  has 
appropriated  one  thousand  dollars  for  the  purchase  of  property,  and  in 
due  time  will  supply  the  proposed  school  with  one  or  more  lady  mis- 
sionaries. The  total  cost  of  property  and  improvements  will  probably 
amount  to  three  thousand  dollars. 

At  the  meeting  of  the  General  Assembly  of  1887,  at  Covington, 
Ohio,  the  Rev.  F.  P.  Lawyer,  of  Illinois,  a  graduate  of  Lincoln 
University,  and  of  IMcCormack  Theological  Seminar)-,  Chicago, 
was  formally  consecrated  to  the  foreign  work  in  Mexico.  It  is 
expected  that  lie  will  soon  join  ]\Ir.  Whatley  and  his  wife  in  the 
mission  at  Aguas  Calientes. 

In  the  last  ten  years  new  missionary  life  has  been  awakened  in 
our  Theological  School.  An  annual  course  of  lectures  on  missions 
before  the  students,  by  Dr.  C.  H.  Bell,  has  done  much  to  bring 
about  this  result.  Our  school  has  been  well  represented  in  the 
meetings  of  the  Inter-Seminar}'  Missionary  Alliance. 

The  Board  of  IMissions  lias  for  several  years  been  issuing  a 
montlil}'  paper.  The  Missionaiy  Record.  Its  able  editorials  and  its 
aggressive  yet  catholic  spirit  have  made  it  an  increasing  power  of 
good  to  the  church  and  the  cause  of  missions. 

The  introduction  of  radical  changes,  however  desirable  those 
changes  may  be,  is  always  a  slow  work.  The  one  thing  in  which 
the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  church  was  of  necessity  deficient  at 
first  was  systematic  giving.  It  had  no  pastors:  could  have  none 
while  our  fathers  were  all  out  planting  the  church  in  the  wilder- 
ness. It  had  self-forgetting  heroism  of  the  loftiest  pattern,  and 
these  fathers  accomplished  the  mission  whereunto  God  had  sent 
them.  Now,  the  work  of  patiently  training  the  organized  con- 
gregations in  the  systematic  consecration  of  their  wealth  to  God 
is  our  most  pressing  duty.  This  duty  rests  on  parents,  pastors,  and 
church  courts.  The  home,  the  nurser}',  is  the  most  important 
place  for  this  training.     Here  is  the  beginning  of  missionar>'  edit- 


Chapter  XLIIL]  MISSIONS.  507 

cation — to  teacli  the  little  ones  that  deep  love  to  Jesus  which  can 
not  rest  without  doing  something  for  his  kingdom.  How  we  do 
miss  this  high  purpose  when  we  put  these  little  immortals  on  a 
course  of  church  theatricals  and  other  substitutes  for  God's  plan 
of  training!  The  cause  of  missions  appeals  to  the  highest  motives 
which  can  influence  the  heart.  God's  plan  is  to  develop  in  the 
church  a  supreme  love  to  Christ,  so  that  it  will  be  more  than  our 
meat  and  drink  to  work,  to  give,  to  suffer,  and,  if  need  be,  to  die 
for  his  kingdom. 

To  secure  such  training  throughout  the  church  will  require 
many  things,  and  require  that  these  things  be  persisted  in  a  long 
time.  Co-operation  among  the  church  boards,  the  church  courts, 
and  the  church  papers — among  pastors,  and  Sabbath-schools,  and 
parents,  in  carrying  out  God's  own  appointed  plan  of  systematic 
beneficence  must  be  secured.  Let  presbyteries  beware  of  nullify- 
ing the  wholesome  plans  of  the  General  Assembly.  Let  patient 
training  go  on.  We  are  making  progress,  but  years  of  labor  will 
be  required — ^perhaps  generations  must  pass  away — before  we  come 
up  to  the  gospel  standard.  And  while  these  generations  pass 
away,  let  us  not  forget  that  generations  of  unsaved  heathen  are 
also  passing  out  into  eternity. 

The  most  powerful  sun-glass  will  not  set  fire  to  tinder  even 
unless  you  continue  its  concentrated  light  on  the  same  spot.  You 
must  give  it  time.  Time  and  persistence  in  concentrating  the  mis- 
sionary spirit  upon  the  rising  generation  of  Christians  are  needed. 
Training  is  never  the  fruit  of  Spasms  and  changes.  We  want  a 
sun-glass  in  our  theological  schools,  Sunday-schools,  and  homes. 
We  want  the  very  sun  himself  in  our  pulpits,  and  by  and  by  we  shall 
have  a  blaze  which  will  kindle  and  burn  throughout  the  church. 

Let  it  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  church  at  home  can  not  live 
without  the  influence  which  foreign  missions  exert  upon  it.  With- 
out this  the  great  swelling  floods  of  worldliness  would  soon  sweep 
the  church  away,  or  make  its  professions  an  empty  sham.  Infidel- 
ity is  the  home  product  of  sham  consecration.  A  whole  neighbor- 
hood was  once  rapidly  drifting  into  infidelity.  The  leading  men 
in  the  churches  were  at  heart  infidels.  INIen  not  members  of  the 
church  openly  mocked  at  the  hypocrisy  of  modern   Christians. 


5o8  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  vi. 

While  that  was  the  general  state  of  things,  Christ  had  one  loyal 
servant  among  the  mothers  of  that  neighborhood  who  trained  her 
children  to  be  what  they  professed.  By  and  by  three  of  this 
woman's  daughters  went  as  missionaries  to  the  heathen.  An  im- 
mediate revolution  began  in  that  neighborhood.  Infidels  ceased 
to  cry  out  ' '  sham. ' '  Three  of  the  leaders  among  them  became 
Christians,  and  when  they  joined  the  church  they  stated  that  it 
was  the  going  forth  of  those  young  ladies  as  missionaries  which 
annihilated  their  skepticism. 

A  Southern  presb)^tery  (Presbyterian)  was  full  of  dissensions. 
Its  meetings  were  scenes  of  wrangling.  In  the  midst  of  all  this, 
one  of  the  young  men  belonging  to  the  presbytery  returned  from 
the  theological  seminary  to  ask  for  ordination  as  a  missionary  to 
the  heathen.  At  his  ordination  every  heart  was  melted  and  every 
feud  was  forever  healed. 

J.  B.  Taylor  tells  us  that  after  he  saw  Mr.  Scudder  embark  for 
a  distant  mission,  from  that  day  onward  his  own  preaching  of  the 
gospel  rose  to  a  higher  plane.  We  must  have  all  these  elements 
of  the  gospel — love,  and  consecration,  and  self-denial — or  else  our 
home  pulpits  descend  to  the  plane  of  mere  human  entertainments. 

The  home  church  will  never  grasp  the  real  divinity  of  Chris- 
tianity till  it  comes  up  to  the  divine  pattern  of  entire  consecration 
to  Christ's  kingdom.  A  patient  study  of  the  glorious  promises 
which  God  makes  to  his  people  shows  that  they  are  all  linked  with 
this  entire  consecration.  While  God's  sovereign  grace  may  extend 
blessings  to  churches  which  are  not  thus  consecrated  to  him,  there 
are  no  assurances  that  such  blessings  will  be  bestowed,  but  many 
reasons  are  given  why  we  should  cherish  no  such  expectation.  On 
the  other  hand,  it  is  absolutely  certain  that  the  divinity  of  Chris- 
tianity will  be  realized  and  known  by  those  who  are  thus  conse- 
crated, will  be  manifested  to  their  children,  and  will  convince  even 
the  gainsaying  and  the  skeptical.  We  have  had  no  missionary' 
work  since  the  days  of  the  apostles.  We  have  only  been  playing 
a  little  at  missions.  Let  the  church  of  this  day  give  men  and 
money  as  the  apostolic  churches  gave,  and  thousands  of  conse- 
crated missionaries  will  immediately  be  added  to  the  forces  now  in 
the  foreign  field. 


Chapter  XLIV.]  CUMBERLAND   UNIVERSITY.  509 


CHAPTER   XLIV. 


CUMBERLAND  UNIVERSITY— 1S43  TO  1SS7. 

It  is  not  necessary  that  this  should  be  a  school  of  three  hundred  bojs.  ...  It 
is  necessary  that  it  should  be  a  school  of  Christian  gentlemen. — Dr.  Thomas  Arnold^ 
of  Rugby. 

WHAT  was  known  as  the  removal  of  Cumberland  College 
from  Princeton,  Kentucky,  to  Lebanon,  Tennessee,  in 
1842,  lias  already  been  discussed.  Among  those  who  composed 
the  first  board  of  trustees  of  this  institution  at  Lebanon  were 
some  of  the  best  men  in  the  country — men  fitted  to  lead  in  all 
noble  public  enterprises.  Deservedly  foremost  among  these  was 
R.  L.  Caruthers,  who  was  made  president  of  the  board.  Who  can 
estimate  the  value  of  one  great-souled  leader?  In  all  noble  plans 
for  the  advancement  of  the  institution's  interests,  this  man  led  the 
way.  If  he  had  been  what  the  world  now  calls  wealthy,  the  uni- 
versity would  long  ago  have  been  fully  endowed.  His  estate  was 
large  enough  to  enable  him  to  place  his  name  at  the  head  of  every 
subscription  paper  circulated  to  raise  money  for  the  institution. 
He  led  not  only  in  liberal  giving,  but  in  planning  liberal  things. 
He  scorned  all  littleness  and  meanness  of  policy  in  the  manage- 
ment of  the  college  business. 

Members  of  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  church  were  nearly 
always  selected  as  trustees.  When  exceptions  were  made  it  was 
not  from  any  lack  of  suitable  men  of  our  own,  but  for  the  purpose 
of  extending  the  influence  and  increasing  the  usefulness  of  the  in- 
stitution. James  C.  Jones,  who  was  once  Governor  of  the  State, 
though  not  a  Cumberland  Presbyterian,  was  a  friend  to  the  church 
and  made  a  good  trustee. 

The  members  of  the  board  at  a  regular  meeting,  in  1842,  desig- 
nated their  choice  of  men  to  compose  the  college  faculty,  as  follows: 
F.  R.  Cossitt,  D.D.,  President;  the  Rev.  C.  G.  McPherson,  Pro- 
fessor of  Mathematics  •  the  Rev.  T.  C.  Anderson,  Professor  of  Latin 


5IO  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  vi. 

and  Greek;  and  N.  Lawrence  Lindsley,  Professor  of  ^Modern  Lan- 
guages. At  a  later  meeting  the  same  year,  T.  N.  Jarman  was 
appointed  tutor.  All  of  these  ultimately  accepted  their  appoint- 
ments, but  McPherson  alone  agreed  to  enter  on  his  work  at  once. 
He,  with  the  assistance  of  a  student  as  tutor,  opened  the  first 
term,  September,  1842,  in  the  building  now  known  as  ]\Irs.  Jones' 
school-house.  At  the  opening  of  the  second  term,  February,  1843, 
Dr.  Cossitt,  and  Tutor  Jarman  arrived  and  entered  on  their  duties. 
The  third  term,  beginning  September,  1843,  ■^^'  Anderson  entered 
on  his  duties;  and  Dr.  Lindsley  began  his  labors  in  the  department 
of  modern  languages  September,  1844.  This  w^as  then  considered 
a  pretty  full  faculty. 

Meantime  it  became  plain  enough  to  the  church  at  large  that  in 
order  to  make  the  college  at  Lebanon  a  success,  it  would  be  neces- 
sary to  abandon  the  "removal"  idea,  and  regard  this  school  as  a 
new  and  original  enterprise.  To  this  view  of  things  none  gave 
more  cheerful  acquiescence  than  the  people  of  Lebanon.  A  new 
charter  was  obtained  in  1844,  in  which  the  institution  was  called 
Cumberland  University,  instead  of  Cumberland  College.  The 
trustees  had  already  resolved  to  secure  a  university  organization, 
according  to  the  American  interpretation  of  that  phrase — that  is, 
they  resolved  to  establish  a  group  of  professional  schools  around  a 
college  of  arts  as  a  center. 

When  the  fifth  term  of  the  college  opened,  the  buildings  erected 
specially  for  it  were  ready  for  occupation.  This  gave  great  relief, 
as  the  patronage  had  grown  beyond  the  accommodations. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  trustees,  July  29,  1842,  they  defined  the 
nature  of  their  obligations  for  teachers'  salaries,  and  declared  that 
definition  to  be  of  perpetual  application.  This  action  has  been 
repeatedly  re-affirmed.  In  pledging  a  salary  to  any  professor,  they 
simply  pledged  to  each  his  part,  pro  rata^  of  tuition  fees  and  endow- 
ment interest,  and  any  deficiency  of  salary  remaining  still  unpaid 
was  to  constitute  no  debt  against  the  institution,  unless  in  some 
future  session  there  should  be  a  surplus  from  this  fund  after  paying 
current  expenses — a  thing  by  no  means  likely  ever  to  occur.  In 
two  cases,  after  rigid  investigation  made  b}'  disinterested  experts, 
it  has  been  decided  that  the  institution  did  not  owe  any  debts  to 


Chapter  XLIV.]  CUMBERLAND   UNIVERSITY.  51I 

professors  who  had  not  received  their  full  iiominal  salar}?-,  but  had 
drawn  their  proportional  part  of  tuition  fees  and  endowment  in- 
terest. Two  faults,  however,  are  undeniable:  one,  that  this  law 
about  salaries  was  not  always  kept  clearly  before  the  professors; 
the  other,  that  in  case  of  a  favorite  professor,  the  trustees  have 
sometimes  departed  from  this  regulation. 

The  year  1845  was  marked  by  several  changes.  Dr.  Cossitt  this 
year  resigned,  and  Prof.  Anderson  was  elected  to  the  president's 
chair.  Prof.  IMcPherson  rehired  from  the  chair  of  Mathematics, 
and  was  succeeded  by  A.  P.  Stewart;  and  James  H.  Sharp  was 
appointed  to  the  chair  of  Physical  Sciences.  This,  too,  was  the 
first  year  in  which  the  institution  published  a  catalogue.  The  roll 
of  students  numbered  ninety-six.  Of  these,  twenty-five  were  can- 
didates for  the  ministry. 

From  the  very  first  the  institution  gave  free  tuition  to  all  regular 
candidates  for  the  ministry,  without  distinction  of  denominations. 
In  addition  to  this  liberality  on  the  part  of  the  faculty — for  the 
school  had  as  }'et  no  endowment — about  fifteen  of  the  citizens  of  the 
town  entered  into  an  agreement  that  each  would  give  one  young 
preacher  free  boarding.  Several  of  the  number  kept  two  each. 
But  liberality  of  soul  does  not  give  infallibility  of  judgment.  A 
few  who  proved  unworthy  were  cared  for  and  petted,  while  some 
of  the  church's  noblest  servants,  as  the  after  years  proved  them 
to  be,  who  were  sent  here  in  their  plain  clothing  and  poverty, 
were  rejected  as  unpromising  by  the  good  people  to  whom  their 
presbyteries  commended  them,  and  went  away  deeply  mortified  and 
embarrassed  to  seek  their  education  elsewhere.  But  the  great 
majority  of  those  who  received  this  generous  aid  paid  back  the 
favor  a  hundred-fold  in  usefulness  to  the  church. 

As  soon  as  the  institution  was  chartered,  it  began  to  struggle 
for  endowment.  After  various  efforts  by  others,  the  Rev.  J.  M. 
McMurray  was  appointed  agent,  and  made  a  most  thorough  and 
protracted  canvass.  The  plan  which  he  was  instructed  to  pursue 
was  to  take  notes  bearing  interest.  The  interest  was  to  be  paid 
annually,  and  the  principal  to  be  retained  by  the  donor  during  his 
life-time.  By  this  plan,  often  modified  to  suit  emergencies,  McMur- 
ray enlarged  the  endowment  to  sixty  thousand  dollars. 


512  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  vi. 

It  was  soon  found,  however,  that  the  plan  did  not  work  well. 
It  required  trouble  and  expense  to  collect  interest  every  year  from 
men  scattered  over  so  vast  a  field.  In  the  old  note  bag  of  the  uni- 
versity treasurer  there  are  to-day  (1887)  a  large  number  of  these  old 
notes  still  unpaid.  They  keep  well — so  do  Confederate  bonds. 
One  thing  deserves  to  be  commemorated — the  persevering  fidelity 
of  McMurray  in  this  work.  With  his  family,  in  his  own  carriage, 
through  mud,  swamps,  and  snow,  over  mountains  and  rocks,  and 
along  all  manner  of  rough  roads,  he  plodded  on  his  patient  jour- 
ne}'S  throughout  the  church. 

During  the  year  1845  ^^^^  trustees  determined  to  open  a  law  de- 
partment in  the  institution.  This  determination  was  condemned 
by  several  leading  men  in  the  church.  It  was  argued  that  a 
theological  school  should  be  established  before  tr}'ing  to  build  up 
any  other  department;  and  that  this  effort  to  secure  a  law  school 
would  divert  interest,  distract  our  forces,  and  delay  the  one  work 
which  has  always  been  nearest  the  hearts  of  our  people — the  estab- 
lishment of  a  theological  school.  Various  private  letters  of  expos- 
tulation were  written  to  the  leaders  at  Lebanon.  This  opposition, 
private  and  public,  continued  and  increased  till  July  26,  1848,  when 
the  trustees  met  and  agreed  upon  a  paper  to  be  published  to  the 
church,  which  should  quiet  all  further  apprehensions. '  The  sub- 
stance of  this  paper  was  a  pledge,  to  be  forever  binding,  that  the  law 
department  should  never  be  any  tax  on  the  church ;  that  it  should 
forever  support  itself,  without  asking  the  church  for  any  assistance. 
The  publication  of  this  pledge  jn  the  church  papers  quieted  the 
opposition.  The  organization  of  this  department  was  delayed  by 
the  refusal  of  men  chosen  for  that  work  to  accept  their  appoint- 
ment. At  last  (1847)  Judge  Abram  Caruthers  was  secured  as  law 
professor,  his  brother,  Robert  L.  Caruthers,  becoming  responsible 
for  any  deficiency  which  might  arise  in  the  salary.  The  law  school 
was  opened  in  R.  L.  Caruther's  law  office.  There  were  thirteen 
students  the  first  term,  among  them  the  present  chancellor  of  the 
university. 

In  1848  the  Hon.  Nathan  Green,  Sr.,  then  Judge  of  the  Supreme 
Court  of  Tennessee,  and  Hon.   Bromfield  L.  Ridley,   one  of  the 

'  Minutes  of  the  Board,  July  26,  1S2S. 


Chapter  XLIV.]  CUMBERLAND   UNIVERSITY.  513 

State  Chancellors,  were  secured  to  teach  in  the  law  school  as  much 
of  their  time  as  their  other  engagements  permitted.  In  1852  Judge 
Green  resigned  his  position  on  the  Supreme  Bench,  and  devoted 
his  whole  time  to  the  law  school.  This  school  grew  to  great  pros- 
perity, paying  at  one  time  over  four  thousand  dollars  per  annum  to 
each  of  its  professors. 

The  other  departments  of  the  university  also  grew  and  pros- 
pered. Prof.  W.  M.  Mariner,  was  added  to  the  college  faculty  in 
1847,  and  Prof.  J.  M.  Safford  succeeded  Prof  J.  H.  Sharp  in  the 
chair  of  Physical  Sciences  in  1848.  Prof  W.  J.  Grannis  was 
secured  for  the  preparatory  school  in  1852.  He  still  occupies  this 
position.     Many  different  persons  served  as  tutors  for  short  terms. 

One  thing  which  has  made  its  impression  deep  on  the  church 
and  the  country  is  the  very  high  grade  of  scholarship  possessed  by 
the  faculty  of  this  institution.  In  no  one  thing  is  there  greater 
verification  of  the  saying  that  "like  produces  like,"  than  in  the 
similar  grade  of  scholarship  found  in  teachers  and  their  pupils.  In 
all  churches,  all  countries,  all  ages,  this  truth  holds  good.  The 
scholarship  of  the  teacher  is  reproduced  in  the  members  of  the 
classes  taught  by  him.  The  records  of  the  English  universities 
kept  from  generation  to  generation  show  that  in  rigid  and  impartial 
examinations,  conducted  from  year  to  year,  the  first  honors  have 
nearly  always  been  won  by  students  whose  professors  were  first 
honor  men,  and  very  seldom  by  those  taught  by  professors  who 
had  themselves  won  no  honors.  If  there  were  some  method  by 
which  the  senior  classes  of  all  the  colleges  of  this  country  could  be 
annually  brought  to  some  such  test,  it  would  do  much  toward  pro- 
moting thoroughness  in  our  institutions  of  learning. 

As  Cumberland  University  grew,  its  buildings  were  found  to 
be  insuflficient.  A  magnificent  extension  to  these  buildings  was 
designed,  and  T.  C.  Blake  was  in  1856  sent  out  to  secure  money 
for  its  erection.  The  plan  on  which  the  agent  was  instructed  to 
operate  was  mainly  the  sale  of  scholarships.  The  building  was  to 
include  dormitories,  and  the  rent  of  the  dormitories  was  to  pay  the 
interest  on  the  scholarships.  In  addition  to  the  new  donations  to 
be  taken  on  this  plan,  the  agent  was  authorized  in  some  special 
cases  to  convert  endowment  notes  secured  by  McMurray  and  others 
33 


514  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  vi. 

into  building  scholarships.  The  needed  amount  was  secured  and  the 
new  buildings  erected.  A  large  part  of  this  sum  was  contributed 
by  citizens  of  Lebanon.  The  rent  of  the  dormitories  was  for  a  while 
a  pretty  good  equivalent  for  the  subtractions  from  the  endowment. 
The  handsome  buildings  were  an  ornament  to  the  town,  and  a  great 
help  to  the  institution.  Placing  all  departments  in  one  building, 
however,  involved  some  serious  disadvantages,  and  is  not  likely  to 
be  tried  again  by  Cumberland  University. 

President  Anderson's  administration  was  long  and  prosperous. 
A  man  of  deep  piety,  whose  heart  was  set  far  more  on  the  kingdom 
of  Christ  than  on  any  literary  fame  or  earthly  interest,  he  struggled 
nobly  to  train  up  a  cultivated  army  of  Christian  soldiers.  Broken 
down  in  health  before  he  became  connected  with  the  institution, 
and  continuing  an  invalid  all  the  remainder  of  his  life,  he  yet 
managed  to  do  a  noble  service  for  his  church  in  the  long  years  he 
spent  as  president  of  this  university. 

The  long-delayed  theological  department  was  opened  in  1853. 
The  Rev.  Richard  Beard,  D.  D. ,  was  its  first  professor.  Dr.  Cossitt 
had  been  elected,  but  declined.  Dr.  Beard,  who  gave  his  whole 
time  to  this  work,  was  aided  in  it  by  the  president  of  the  univer- 
sity and  the  pastor  of  the  Lebanon  congregation.  As  this  depart- 
ment had  at  first  no  endowment.  Dr.  Beard's  salary  was  secured  by 
private  contributions  from  citizens  of  Lebanon.  The  Rev.  \V.  D. 
Chadick,  D.D.,  was  then  sent  out  to  solicit  endowment  specially 
for  this  department.  He  secured  notes  amounting  to  nineteen 
thousand  dollars.  Then  the  Rev.  W.  E.  Ward  was  commissioned 
as  agent,  and  he  secured  nine  thousand  dollars  in  notes. 

The  patronage  of  the  Theological  School  was  small.  In  1858 
it  had  its  first  graduating  class,  four  in  number.  With  but  one 
professor,  and  no  available  endowment,  the  outlook  was  certainly 
gloomy.  Dr.  Beard,  however,  toiled  on,  though  often  greatly  dis- 
couraged. The  entries  in  his  private  diary  are  often  very  sad.  He 
began  to  doubt  that  his  church  really  wanted  a  theological  school. 
He  grew  very  sensitive  on  the  subject.  Some  statements  in  the 
church  paper  from  one  of  the  older  preachers  he  regarded  as  an 
attack  upon  the  whole  system  of  theological  schools,  and  he  wrote 
a  long  series  of  articles  in  reply.     Then  another  aged  minister, 


Chapter  XLIV.]  CUMBERLAND   UNIVERSITY.  515 

while  on  a  visit  at  Lebanon,  preached  a  sermon  which  Dr.  Beard 
construed  as  another  attack  on  theological  schools,  though  the 
preacher  afterward  disclaimed  any  such  intention.  Dr.  Beard 
spent  a  week  in  gloomy  fastings  and  heart  searchings.  "Am  I 
wrong?  Have  I  taken  a  wrong  step?  Thou,  Lord,  knowest  my 
whole  heart.  If  this  work  is  not  from  thee,  Lord,  shut  the  door 
on  it  forever."  Thus  he  wrote  in  his  diary.  After  that  his  spirit 
had  rest.  A  sweet  assurance  of  God's  approbation  filled  his  soul, 
and  he  went  on  with  his  half-paid  labors  all  the  remainder  of  his 
life.     His  professorship  lasted  twenty-seven  years. 

The  university  grew  and  prospered.  The  largest  number  of 
students  ever  reported  for  one  year  was  four  hundred  and  eighty- 
one.  That  was  in  1858.  Nearly  half  of  these  were  law  students. 
In  that  year  the  Law  School  reached  its  greatest  prosperity. 

Then  came  the  war,  closing  out  all  departments  and  sending 
members  of  the  same  class  to  fight  against  each  other  in  different 
armies.  The  war  wiped  out  the  endowment,  burned  down  the 
buildings,  destroyed  the  library,  and  filled  all  the  friends  of  the 
university  with  despair.  Stunned,  bewildered,  heartless,  the  sur- 
viving trustees,  after  the  war,  looked  on  the  old  columns  which 
marked  the  site  of  the  burnt  buildings,  with  very  little  hope  of 
ever  seeing  another  college  class  taught  in  their  town.  About  this 
time  the  Rev.  W.  E.  Ward,  D.D.,  visited  Lebanon.  He  was  an 
alumnus  of  all  the  departments  of  the  university.  Walking  sadly 
about  the  old  ruins,  he  took  out  his  pencil  and  wrote  on  one  of  the 
then  standing  columns,  '  ''Resurgam. ' '  The  word  was  taken  up  by 
others,  and  soon  became  the  watchword  for  a  new  struggle.  The 
Rev.  T.  C.  Blake  was  sent  out  as  an  agent  to  raise  money  for  the 
erection  of  new  buildings.  The  whole  country  was  a  scene  of 
confusion  and  desolation;  but  in  spite  of  the  discouragements  he 
secured  in  notes  and  cash  over  thirty  thousand  dollars. 

Dr.  Beard  and  Dr.  Anderson  secured  a  hall  and  proclaimed 
their  readiness  to  receive  pupils  in  the  College  of  Arts.  The  two 
Greens — father  and  son — in  another  hall  opened  the  Law  School. 
Very  few  matriculants  were  enrolled  in  either  department  the  first 
session. 

Some  of  the  trustees  advocated  the  policy  of  abandoning  all 


5i6  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  vi. 

the  old  departments  except  the  Law  School.  The  board  resolved 
to  purchase  the  former  residence  of  Abram  Caruthers,  deceased, 
for  this  school.  For  the  buildings,  sixty  acres  of  land,  and  the 
work  needed  to  fit  up  the  buildings,  they  agreed  to  pay  sixteen 
thousand  dollars.  Their  only  building  fund  was  the  unpaid  notes 
which  had  been  secured  and  handed  over  by  Dr.  Blake.  The  aim 
was  to  raise  half  the  purchase  money  by  subscriptions  from  Ten- 
nessee lawyers.  This  plan,  however,  was  not  successful,  and  dis- 
satisfaction about  the  purchase  became  general. 

The  Law  School  never  occupied  these  buildings,  but  the  trus- 
tees turned  them  over  to  the  College  of  Arts,  hoping  in  this  way 
to  conciliate  the  people.  But  this  measure  had  the  oj^posite  effect. 
It  was  interpreted  as  a  deliberate  abandonment  of  the  plan  for 
rebuilding  on  the  old  site.  A  large  majority  of  those  who  had 
promised  to  contribute  to  the  building  fund  refused  to  pay  their 
notes,  and  most  of  these  notes  remain  unpaid,  and  will  doubtless 
so  remain  forever.  Much  prejudice  and  ill-feeling  were  thus  en- 
gendered. 

This  was  the  state  of  things  when  the  writer  of  this  historv'  be- 
came president  of  this  institution.'  Dr.  Anderson  had  resigned  a 
year  before,  and  the  presidency  had  been  offered  to  Gen.  A.  P. 
Stewart,  and  perhaps  to  others.  Then  the  school  had  remained 
without  a  head  for  some  time.  The  prospects  were  ver}''  dark. 
The  condition  of  things  when  the  new  administration  began  beg- 
gars all  description.  There  was  deep-seated  dissatisfaction  about 
the  buildings.  There  was  no  hope  in  the  Board  of  Trustees, 
There  were  old  debts  contracted  before  the  war,  and  pressing  like 
hungr}^  wolves.  There  was  not  an  advertisement  of  the  school  in 
any  paper.  There  was  no  endowment,  there  was  no  money  be- 
lonofing-  to  the  institution.  And  worse  than  all  else  were  those 
rentable  scholarships  by  whose  aid  the  burnt  buildings  had  been 
erected.  Many  of  these  were  sent  to  Lebanon  to  be  rented  to  the 
students  at  less  rates  than  tuition  fees,  and  there  was  nothing  to 
compensate  the  faculty  for  teaching  the  pupils  who  rented  these 

'  Not  being  able  to  secure  the  history  of  my  own  administration  from  any  other 
pen,  I  submitted  my  own  account  of  it  to  the  present  chancellor,  who  was  my  col- 
'.eague  in  toil  and  trials,  and  I  have  made  all  changes  suggested  by  him. — B.  W.  M. 


Chapter  XLIV.]  CUMBERLAND   UNIVERSITY.  517 

scholarships.  These  and  many  other  equally  trying  things  in- 
volved perplexities  and  struggles  which  only  the  Omniscient  One 
and  those  who  grappled  directly  with  these  difficulties  can  under- 
stand.    No  matter,  '"''Resurgam^''  became  a  fulfilled  prophecy. 

The  plan  for  work  in  the  institution  was,  at  whatever  cost,  to 
secure  a  full  and  able  faculty.  Private  subscriptions  at  Lebanon, 
supplemented  by  what  was  called  ' '  the  cash  endowment, ' '  enabled 
us  to  accomplish  this  object.  Many  of  the  leading  newspapers  of 
the  South  declared  ours  to  be  the  best  faculty  in  all  the  Southern 
States.  A  distinguished  jurist  said,  "Cumberland  University  has 
shot  out  of  the  channel  ahead. "  Not  only  were  our  professors  able 
and  tried  educators,  but  they  had  filled  high  positions  of  trust, 
which  fact  went  far  toward  giving  influence  and  power  to  the 
university. 

For  a  few  years  we  were  steadily  overcoming  the  difficulties. 
The  institution,  for  the  first  time  in  its  history,  was  out  of  debt. 
Endowment,  unencumbered  and  real,  was  slowly  but  regularly 
secured.  For  this  work,  reliance  was  placed  on  several  things. 
The  main  one  was  to  enlist  the  efforts  of  pastors.  This  method 
was  extensively  successful.  Next  to  that  was  a  series  of  well 
studied  articles  in  the  church  papers.  There  were  also  vacation 
trips  and  visits  and  speeches  to  the  church  judicatures.  The 
wealthy  were  called  upon  in  order  to  secure  donations.  These 
methods,  combined  with  "the  cash  endowment"  for  immediate 
use  without  investment,  made  up  the  programme  by  which  the 
work  was  sustained. 

The  Finley  Bequest,  secured  in  1869,  now  furnishes  the  best  part 
of  the  living  of  the  theological  professors.  A  will,  made  through 
the  influence  of  one  of  our  pastors  at  that  time,  has  been  changed 
since  into  a  ten  thousand  dollar  cash  contribution.  Several  small 
tracts  of  land  were  about  this  time  deeded  to  the  university,  and 
turned  by  it  into  money  to  meet  some  of  its  pressing  wants.  Ex- 
tensive mining  lands,  which  were  thought  then  to  be  valuable, 
though  nothing  has  ever  been  realized  from  them,  were  secured; 
also  a  tract  of  land  lying  between  Kansas  City  and  Independence, 
Missouri,  which  promises  to  be  very  valuable.  A  dear  friend  of 
the  university  holds  a  life-time  reservation  claim  on  the  tract  last 


5i8  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  vi. 

mentioned,  so  that  it  is  not  now  available.  This  land  was  donated 
to  the  university  in  1870.  It  was  then  supposed  to  be  of  sufficient 
value  to  endow  a  professorship.  Its  value  has  since  increased 
greatly,  and  is  perhaps  the  largest  donation  ever  made  to  the  insti- 
tution. 

The  largest  gift  of  books  which  the  university  ever  received 
was  made  in  1869.  This  is  the  library  of  the  Rev.  James  Mur- 
dock,  of  the  theological  department  of  Yale  College.  It  is  specially 
rich  in  patristic  and  historic  literature.  This  library  was  donated 
by  the  Hon.  Abraham  Murdock,  of  Columbus,  Mississippi.  He  is 
a  son  of  the  old  Professor,  and  was  at  the  time  the  donation  was 
made  under  the  pastoral  care  of  that  active  friend  of  the  university, 
Dr.  G.  T.  Stainback. 

When  the  war  closed  the  citizens  of  Lebanon  were  no  longer 
able  to  give  free  boarding  to  candidates  for  the  ministry.  Dr.  T. 
C.  Blake  suggested  the  establishment  of  "a  camp"  for  them,  sim- 
ilar to  the  quarters  or  barracks  occupied  by  soldiers.  Provisions 
were  to  be  solicited  from  the  surrounding  churches.  As  many  of 
the  probationers  had  been  soldiers  in  the  war,  this  plan  was  the 
more  readily  adopted.  An  old  boarding-house,  with  several  small 
buildings  surrounding  it,  was  purchased  and  named  Camp  Blake. 
The  money  to  pay  for  this  property  was  secured,  and  an  ample 
supply  of  provisions  was  also  obtained.  Nathan  Green,  the  present 
chancellor,  became  superintendent  of  this  novel  encampment,  and 
filled  this  position  without  any  pay  as  long  as  this  method  of  pro- 
viding homes  for  our  young  men  was  continued.  His  services  in 
that  sphere  were  very  valuable,  for  he  not  only  managed  the  finances 
so  as  to  keep  the  camp  clear  of  debt,  but  also  exercised  the  kindest 
fatherly  oversight  over  the  young  preachers.  Some  of  those  who 
gathered  there  were  very  unpromising  in  appearance  at  first,  but 
they  improved  afterward  to  a  degree  that  placed  them  in  the  front 
ranks  of  the  ministry  of  our  church. 

To  many  an  old  student  the  following  paragraphs,  clipped  from 
one  of  Judge  Green's  published  articles,  will  call  up  pleasant  rem- 
iniscences: 

Yielding  to  the  suggestion  of  many  older  and  wiser  men,  I  have 
engaged  the  services  of  one  of  the  most  refined  and  elegant  ladies  of  our 


Chapter  XLIV.]  CUMBERI^AND   UNIVERSITY.  519 

church  to  supervise  the  cooking  and  grace  the  table  at  Camp  Blake. 
The  lady  has  her  mother  with  her,  who  contributes  much  to  the  com- 
fort of  the  cadets.  It  was  thought  indispensible  that  a  lady  should  be 
among  these  young  preachers  to  soften  and  refine  their  manners,  as  well 
as  to  protect  them  against  the  carelessness  of  servants.  .  ,  . 

Already,  though  the  next  session  will  not  begin  for  ten  days,  have 
the  young  preachers  who  intend  to  enter  college  next  year  begun  to 
arrive.  I  am  afraid  to  say  how  many  will  be  here  next  session,  for  the 
old  ones  all  remain.  I  am  confident  there  will  be  fifty  or  more.  What 
shall  we  do  with  them  ?  They  must  all  eat  at  once  at  the  table,  and  they 
must  all  eat  at  the  same  table.  The  dining-room  now  used  is  too  small 
for  fifty  men.  We  must  have  another,  and  take  this  for  a  dormitory.  It 
has  been  determined,  therefore,  by  the  best  advice,  to  erect  a  tabernacle. 

From  fifty  to  seventy  young  preachers  were  provided  for  every 
term.  Some  of  these  are  now  among  the  most  snccessful  pastors 
in  the  denomination.  More  yotmg  preachers  went  to  college  under 
this  arrangement  than  any  other  our  church  ever  had.  When 
better  times  enabled  the  trustees  to  make  better  arrangements,  the 
Camp  Blake  property,  which  was  clear  of  debt,  was  rented  out  in 
the  interest  of  the  theological  department,  and  is  still  so  used. 

One  of  the  great  difficulties  the  college  encountered  just  after 
the  war,  was  the  utter  lack  of  any  regular  preparatory  schools  in 
the  South.  In  view  of  this,  the  trustees  established  detached  pre- 
paratory schools  in  several  Southern  towais  and  cities.  The  number 
of  pupils  in  these  at  one  time  reached  seven  htmdred.  The  mis- 
sion which  these  schools  were  designed  to  fill  was  temporary,  and 
when  their  work  was  done  they  were  abandoned. 

Meantime  the  troubles  about  the  purchase  of  the  Caruthers 
buildings  greatly  increased.  Only  a  small  number  of  the  building 
notes  could  be  collected.  About  half  the  purchase  money  had 
been  paid,  and  the  remaining  debt  was  pressing.  Finally  the  prop- 
erty was  condemned  by  the  courts  and  its  sale  ordered.  The  theo- 
logical school  bought  it,  paying  for  it  just  half  what  it  had  cost 
the  trustees. 

This  was  one  of  the  wisest  steps  the  theological  school  ever 
took.  This  school  had  unimproved  property  in  Chicago,  which 
had  been  for  years  eating  itself  up  with  taxes  and  agent's  fees.  The 
trustees  sold  this  Chicago  property  for  twelve  thousand  dollars  cash. 


520  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.      [Period  vi. 

The  theological  school  invested  four  thousand  dollars  of  this  money 
as  endowment,  and  paid  eight  thousand  for  the  Caruthers  property, 
now  called  Divinity  Hall.  Thus  buildings  and  land,  which  were 
valued  at  twice  the  money  invested,  were  obtained,  and  the  uni- 
versity was  saved  a  sacrifice  which  would  have  placed  both  the 
theological  school  and  the  college  of  arts  out  of  doors,  with  scarcely 
a  hope  of  ever  securing  a  shelter  over  their  heads.  Indeed  this 
purchase  saved  the  life  both  of  the  theological  school  and  the  col- 
lege of  arts.  And  }et  a  committee  which  knew  nothing  of  the 
facts  wanted  the  next  General  Assembly  to  censure  the  trustees  for 
making  it. 

The  darkest,  saddest  part  of  this  struggle  to  build  up  the  uni- 
versity was  the  bitter  but  unsuccessful  conflict  with  the  life  insur- 
ance companies.  Schemes  for  securing  endowment  by  persuading 
men  to  take  out  insurance  policies  in  favor  of  the  university  were 
pressed  by  five  different  companies.  When  these  efforts  were 
thwarted  at  Lebanon,  the  agents  of  the  companies  would  visit 
churches  and  attend  the  meetings  of  Presbyteries  and  Synods  to 
secure  their  influence  in  urging  these  plans  upon  the  trustees. 
Some  of  our  ablest  ministers  were  induced  thus  to  take  an  active 
part  in  pressing  these  schemes. 

As  the  president  had  several  times  succeeded  in  defeating  the 
efforts  of  these  agents,  they  began  to  watch  for  opportunities  to 
press  their  plans  on  the  board  in  his  absence.  In  1871,  while  he 
was  absent  in  Alabama,  an  agent  of  the  St.  Louis  IMutual  Life 
Insurance  Company,  who  was  also  an  elder  in  one  of  our  strong 
churches,  and  a  true  friend  of  the  university,  prevailed  on  the 
trustees  to  adopt  his  scheme.  Though  this  scheme  was  well  meant, 
and  looked  plausible,  and  was  indorsed  by  many  friends  of  the 
institution,  yet  its  adoption  was  a  death  blow  to  all  the  plans  that 
had  been  formed  by  the  president  and  those  co-operating  with  him. 
The  trustees  claimed  for  the  agents  of  the  insurance  companies  a 
clear  field,  not  permitting  any  other  method  of  raising  money  for 
permanent  endowment,  or  allowing  the  collection  of  cash  contribu- 
tions to  supplement  salaries.  It  being  known  that  the  author  of 
this  history,  as  president,  had  no  confidence  in  the  scheme,  he  was 
enjoined  to  keep  silence.     This  he  did  except  when  conscience  re- 


Chapter  XLIV.]  CUMBERLAND   UNIVERSITY.  521 

quired  him  to  speak.  He  did  nothing  to  thwart  the  agents;  but 
when  the  friends  of  other  colleges  wrote,  making  inquiries  about 
the  "grand  scheme,"  they  were  warned  to  have  nothing  to  do  with 
it.  The  University  of  Virginia  and  other  institutions  were  perhaps 
saved  from  burnt  fins^ers  bv  these  warnings. 

The  insurance  scheme  amounted  to  a  disaster.  The  insolvency 
of  the  company  after  the  church  had  invested  many  thousands  with 
it,  and  before  the  university  had  received  any  real  benefit,  came^ 
sweeping  away  confidence  and  hope  together.  Under  the  anxiety 
growing  out  of  this  insurance  business,  and  the  suspense  and  final 
disaster  it  brought,  the  health  of  the  president  gave  way,  leaving 
him  in  a  long  struggle  between  life  and  death.  He  resigned  in 
September,  1873,  and  the  Hon.  Nathan  Green  was  placed  at  the 
head  of  the  institution  as  chancellor. 

Dr.  Green  receives  pay  as  Law  Professor,  but  his  work  as  chan- 
cellor is  done  without  salary.  We  can  often  judge  of  a  man's  clear- 
sightedness by  looking  backward.  Dr.  Green  opposed  the  purchase 
of  the  Caruthers  buildings  for  the  law  school.  He  opposed  the 
schemes  of  endowment  by  life  insurance.  He  opposed  all  the 
schemes  for  cheap  scholarships,  and  all  other  clap-trap  methods  for 
securing  endowment  funds.  The  results  now  indicate  the  correct- 
ness of  his  judgment  in  all  these  matters. 

The  most  important  work  of  Dr.  Green's  administration  has  been 
that  done  for  the  theological  school.  When  he  was  made  chan- 
cellor that  school  had  but  one  professor.  It  now  has  a  faculty 
of  three  professors,  and  an  indefatigable  agent  is  making  good 
progress  toward  its  endowment.  Two  handsome  buildings,  large 
enough  for  two  of  the  departments  of  the  university,  have  also  been 
secured  since  Dr.  Green  became  chancellor. 

The  institution  now  has  one  building  for  each  of  its  four  depart- 
ments. Its  endowment  is  largely  prospective — notes  and  lands 
being  the  main  items. 

A  change  of  deep  significance  has  taken  place  in  regard  to  the 
endowment  of  the  theological  school.  The  General  Assembly  has 
awakened  at  last  to  the  fact  that  this  school  belongs  not  to  Cumber- 
land University,  but  to  the  whole  church.  Not  the  trustees  of  the 
university,  but  the  General  Assembly  planned  and  inaugurated  this 


522  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  vi. 

department.  Cumberland  University  did  not  even  ask  the  General 
Assembly  to  establish  such  a  department.  True,  the  friends  of  the 
university  from  all  parts  of  the  church  are  very  earnest  in  their 
convictions  that  Lebanon  is  the  proper  place  for  such  a  school,  and 
they  urged  those  views  on  the  General  Assembly  before  the  school 
was  located. 

At  Benton ville,  Arkansas,  1885,  the  General  Assembly  instructed 
its  own  Board  of  Education,  located  at  Nashville,  Tennessee,  to 
appoint  an  agent  to  secure  endowment  for  the  theological  school. 
So  long  as  the  trustees  of  Cumberland  University  appointed  the 
agents  to  endow  this  department,  that  fact  placed  this  school  in  a 
false  light.  It  is  not  and  never  was  a  mere  department  of  the  uni- 
versity. It  stands  in  relations  to  the  university  far  different  from 
those  sustained  by  the  law  department.  The  latter  was  created  by 
the  trustees  at  lycbanon,  and  could  be  abandoned  by  them  without 
asking  the  church  or  the  General  Assembly. 

The  church's  theological  school  is  a  department  of  the  university 
only  so  far  as  such  relation  is  supposed  to  be  serviceable  to  this 
school,  but  it  is  something  more  than  a  mere  department.  It  has 
relations  independent  of  the  university.  The  propriety  of  having 
a  separate  board  of  trust  for  it  has  often  been  discussed,  but  its  own 
interests  are  against  such  a  separation. 

The  charter  for  this  department  differs  greatly  in  its  provisions 
from  the  charters  of  the  other  departments.  One  item  included  in 
the  rules  laid  down  by  the  Assembly  when  this  school  was  estab- 
lished, and  which  was  rigidly  enforced  for  a  few  }'ears,  has  unfor- 
tunately been  allowed  to  pass  into  forgetful ness.  It  provides  that 
a  committee  shall  be  appointed  annually  by  the  General  Assembly 
to  visit  the  institution  and  report  concerning  its  prosperity  and 
orthodoxy.  At  a  time  when  so  many  theological  schools  are  drift- 
ing away  into  heresies  and  something  worse,  our  church  should  by 
no  means  relax  its  use  of  this  fortunate  provision.  We  have  no 
right  to  assume  that  we  are  forever  free  from  jeopardy,  when  some 
of  our  neighbors  are  even  now  in  such  trouble. 

The  fundamental  laws  of  the  institution,  to  which  its  charter 
was  required  to  conform,  were  laid  down  by  the  General  Assembly 
when  the  school  was  established.     (See  Assembly  IMinutes,  1852). 


Chapter  XLIV.]  CUMBERLAND   UNIVERSITY.  523 

The  last  section  of  Article  V.  and  three  sections  from  Article  VI. 
are  here  given : 

ARTICLE  V. 
Sec.  7. — Each   professor,   before    entering    upon   the  duties  of  his 
office,  shall  solemnly  adopt,  in  such  form  as  the  Assembly  may  pre- 
scribe, the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  Confession  of   Faith  and   Form 

of  Government. 

ARTICLE  VI. 

Sec.  I. — That  the  theology  taught  in  the  school  may  be  subject  to 
the  judgment  of  the  Assembly,  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Professor  of 
Systematic  Theology  to  write  out  his  lectures  to  the  classes,  and  when 
required,  he  shall  submit  them  to  the  examination  of  the  board,  or  to  a 
committee  of  the  Assembly. 

Sec  2. — Professors,  as  other  ministers,  will  be  amenable  to  the 
presbytery,  and  subject  to  be  arraigned  for  immorality  or  heresy.  But 
for  their  official  character  they  shall  be  amenable  to  the  Assembly,  and 
upon  a  recoinmendation  of  the  board  or  a  committee  of  the  Assembly, 
they  shall  be  subject  to  removal  for  incompetency,  gross  neglect  of  offi- 
cial duty,  or  such  irregularity  in  deportment  or  error  in  doctrine  as  shall 
render  their  continuance  in  office  detrimental  to  the  interests  of  the  school. 

Sec.  3. — As  professors  may  be  removed  whenever  the  Assembly 
shall  deem  it  expedient,  appointments  shall  be  made  for  an  indefinite 
time,  except  in  cases  where  the  board  may  recommend  an  appointment 
for  a  definite  period. 

One  of  the  strange  questions  of  the  times  relates  to  the  theo- 
logical education  of  young  ladies  who  are  to  go  out  as  foreign 
missionaries.  That  there  should  be  embarrassment  and  hesitation 
about  receiving  them  into  the  classes  of  our  theological  seminary 
seems  to  some  people  very  strange.  To  some  of  the  staid  old  con- 
serxT'atives  of  Cumberland  University,  who  have  always  objected  to 
co-education,  it  is  a  matter  of  astonishment  that  such  an  innova- 
tion should  be  demanded.  Now  the  question  is  to  come  before  the 
General  Assembly,  and  we  shall  see  whether  or  not  the  world  is 
moving.     In  this  matter  the  Assembly  has  entire  control. 

The  tables  of  statistics  relating  to  the  university,  published  in 
The  Theological  Medium^  October,  1876,  abound  in  mistakes. 
The  dates,  and  the  figures  indicating  the  patronage,  are  unreliable. 
Omitting  the  temporary  and  detached  schools,  the  following  is  a 
list  of  all  those  who  have  been  members  of  the  faculty  of  Cumber- 
land University: 


524 


Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  vi. 


Rev.  F.  It.  Cossitt,  D.D 

Rtjv.  T.  ('.  Aiulersoii,  D.lK. 
Kev.  B.  W.  McUonnold,  1».1»., 

LL.U 

Hon.  N.  Oreon,  IX.  1) 

Kev.  C.  G.  Mcl'hurson 

Rev.  T.  C.  Anderson 

Mr. .  Price 

T.  N..I;iniiaii 

B.  S.  Foster 

N.  L.awrence  Undsley,  LL.D.. 

Gen.  A.  I'.  Stewart 

Geu.  A.  P.  Stewart 

Gen.  A.  P.  Stewart 

Ixjuis  A.  I^wry,  A.B 

J.  H.  Sharp,  M.I) 

lion.  Ab.  Carulhers 

K.  P.  Decherd 

R.  P.  Deeherd 

R.  P.  Decherd 

Rev.  Itobert  Donnell 

Rev.  Wiley  M.  Reed 

Robert  Hatton 

R«v.  N.J.  Fox 

Wm.  JNIariner,  A.M 

J.  M.  Sattbrd,  Ph.D 

J.  L.  McDowell 

Wm.  Mariner,  A.M 

AVm.  Mariner,  A.M 

Rev.  J.  C.  Provine 

Rev.  T.  C.  Blake 

Rev.  T.  C.  Blake 

Rev.  S.  T.  Anderson 

Rev.  W.  W.  Suddarth...., 

Rev.  E.  B.  Crisiuan 

Rev.  A.  H.  Alsup 

Rev.  II.  Beard,  D.D 

Hubert  H.  Merrill 

W.  .1.  Craw 

A.  H.  Buchanan 

A.  H.  Buchanan 

II.  A.  D.  Brown 

J.  Blau 

E.  G.  Burney 

Ben  Decherd 

T.  C.  Anderson.  D.D 

W.  D.  McLaughlin 

W.  D.  McLaughlin 

D.  S.  Bodenhamer 

H.  T.  Norman 

John  I.  D.  Hinds 

W.  J.  Grannis 

W.  J.  Grannis 

Samuel  Y.  Finley 

H.  S.  Kennedy 

N.  J.  Finney 

Rev.  T.  M.  Thuruian 

Oliver  Holben 

N.  (ireen,  Jr 

T.  H.  llardwick 

H.  H.  Merrill 

B.  C,  Jilson 

E.  H.  Plumacher 

W.  H.  Daruall 

H.  W.  Grannis 

Abram   Carulhers 

Nathan  Green 

B.  L.  Ridley 

N.  Green,  Jr 

John  C.  Carter 

Henry  Cooper 

Robert  L.  Caruthers 

Andrew  B.  Martin 

S.G.  Burney,  D.D 

R.  V.  Foster,  A.M 

John  1. 1).  Hinds 

J.  D.  Kirkpatrick,  D.D 

E.  E.  Weir 


rKOFESSOKSHIP. 


President. 
President. 


President 

I'haucellor , 

-Mathematics 

Languages 

Tutor  lor  one  session 

Permanent  Tutor 

Tutor 

Lin.  Vetr 

Mathematics 

Mathematics 

Mathematics 

Mathematics  (temporary) 

Chemistry 

Int.  and  Const,  l^iw  and  Political  Economy. 

Second  Tutor 

Tutor 

Sup't.  Prep.  Dep't 

Lecturer  on  Theology 

Junior  Tutor 

Tutor 

Tutor 

:V.ss'tProf.  Lin.  Vetr 

Chem.,  Win.,  and  Geo 

Tutor 

Mathematics 

Lin.  Vetr 

-\ssistant  Tutor 

Tutor 

Mathematics 

Tutor 

Tutor  for  five  months 

Tutor  fur  one  session 

Tutor 

Systematic  Theology 

Teacher  Prej).  Dep't 

In  Dr.  Safibrd's  absence 

Eng.  and  Engineering  Deji't 

Mathematics 

Teacher  Prep.  Dep't 

Modern  Languages 

Prin.  Prep.  Dep't 

.\ssistant  Teacher  Prep.  Dep't 

Lecturer  in  Theology 

Adjunct  I'rof.  Classics  and  Belles-Lettres.. 

Prof.  Lin.  Vetr 

Teacher  Prep.  Dep't 

Teacher  Prep.  Dep't 

.\dj.  Prof.  Phys.  feci 

Prop.  Dep't 

Prin.  Prep.  Dep't 

Teacher  Prep.  Dep't 

Prin.  Eng.  School 

Teacher  Prep.  Dep't 

Tutor 

Modern  Languages 

Tutor 

Tutor 

Teacher 

Geology 

Modern  Languages 

Murdock  Prof.  Eccles.  Hist 

Teacher  Prep.  Dep't 

Law  Professor 


Prof.  Bib.  Lit 

Prof.  Belles-Lettres  and  Hebrew., 

Prof.  Chem.  and  Nat.  Science 

Eccles.  Hist 

Eng.  Literature 


April 

.lune 

Feb. 

Feb. 

.May 

Jan. 

Fe>). 

Feb. 

July 

Feb. 

June 

June 

Dec. 

June 

Sept. 

Oct. 

July 

Feb. 

Sept. 

Aug. 

Jan. 

June 

Oct. 

April 

April 

May 

June 

Aug. 

Sept. 

Aug. 

July 

Nov. 

Aug. 

June 

July 

Aug. 

June 

Oct. 

Aug. 


Aug. 


Sept. 


9,    1842, 

30,  1844, 

-,  ISGC, 
■61),   l.sTa. 

9,  1842 
3,  1842 
3,  1842 
!»,  1842 
2'J,  1844 

21,  1844 

22,  184") 
3,    1850 

28,  18"G 
27,  1845 
27,  1845 

17,  1845 
3,  l«4ti 
22,  1849, 
16,   18.50 

10,  1846 
20,  1847 
26,  1847 

26,  1847 

31,  1847 

27,  1848 

11,  1848 

1,  1849 

12,  1850 

16,  1850 

20,  1850 

2,  1854 
IS,  1851 
27,  1851 

10,  1851 

2,  1852 
22,  1853 

24,  1,'55! 

3,  1854 
2,  1854 
2,  1860, 

21,  1850 

11,  ISGii 

17,  1866 
24,  1S6'.I 
30,  1870 

22,  1870 
17,  1872 
6,  1871 

18,  1871, 
30,  1873, 
-,  1852, 

30,  1873 
-,  1859, 
-,  1866, 
-,  1866, 
-,  1866, 
-,  1867, 
-,  1-44, 
-,  1851, 
-,  1858, 
-,  1854, 
-,  1870, 
-,  1873, 
-,  1875, 
-,  1847, 
-,  1848, 
-,  1848, 
-,  1856, 
-,  1859, 
-,  1866, 
-,  1868, 
-,  1878. 
-,  1877. 
-,  1877. 
-,  1874. 
-,  1880. 
,  1880. 


.Sept.  30,  1S44. 
Aug.  24,  18tiG. 

,  1873. 


21,  1844. 
21,  1814. 
-,  1842. 
,  1841. 
-,  1846. 
13,  1849. 

1,  1819. 

2,  18.54. 
2,  1869. 

-,  1845. 
4,  1847. 

1,  1847. 
20,  1S47. 
16,  1850. 

2,  1854. 
-,  1848. 

,  1.S4S. 
-,  184.S. 
-,  1848. 

1,  1849. 
-,  1873. 
-,  1848. 

12,  1850. 
-,  1860. 
-,  1850. 

24,  1851. 

28,  1856. 
-,  1851. 
-,  1851. 
-,  1852. 
-,  1852. 
-,  1881. 

3,  1800. 

-,  1800. 


,  18.-)8. 

,  1867. 

July  22,  1870. 

,  1871. 

,  1872. 

Aug.  17.  1872. 

,  -S72. 

,  1872. 

,  1874. 

,  1862. 


.*ept. 
Sept. 


Oct. 
Oct. 
Aug. 
Sept. 

.Sci)t. 

May 
Feb. 
Feb. 
Aug. 


Oct. 
July 


June 
June 


July 


1860. 
1871. 
1867. 
1867. 
1870. 
1845. 
1852. 
1859. 
1856. 
1871. 
1878. 

1862. 
1866. 
1852. 

1864. 
1S68. 
1882. 


Chapter  XLIV.]  CUMBERLAND   UNIVERSITY.  525 

From  the  first  the  law  school  has  combined  all  the  best  methods 
of  instruction  with  the  services  of  the  very  ablest  professors.  The 
instruction  does  not  consist  of  mere  lectures  by  those  who  have 
turned  aside  for  an  hour  from  busy  practice  at  the  bar,  but  able 
lawyers  give  their  whole  time  to  the  classes,  teaching  by  recita- 
tions, lectures,  and  moot  courts. 

The  first  want  of  a  student  in  his  preparation  for  any  profession 
is  that  mental  discipline  and  development  which  a  college  of  arts 
furnishes.  To  place  a  student  in  his  professional  studies  before  he 
learns  how  to  think,  is  the  road  to  professional  failure.  Cumber- 
land University  could  furnish  from  its  own  long  rolls,  many  an 
illustration  of  this  fundamental  truth.  The  department  of  arts 
demands  larger  facilities,  and  must  have  them  if  we  would  realize 
the  best  results. 

Wiley  A.  Hatley,  of  Arkansas,  in  a  tribute  to  the  memory  of 
his  father,  John  Hatley,  after  describing  many  noble  services  which 
his  father  rendered  to  the  church,  closes  the  biographical  sketch 
with  these  words:  "  No  other  part  of  the  legacy  he  left  to  his  chil- 
dren has  been  so  precious  in  its  influence  on  them  as  the  money  he 
contributed  for  the  founding  of  Cumberland  University,  and  for  the 
support  of  other  enterprises  of  the  church.  The  large  sums  which 
he  so  freely  gave  to  the  church,  and  for  the  cause  of  Christian 
education,  brought  a  greater  blessing  to  those  he  left  behind  than 
the  estate  which  they  directly  inherited." 

Whenever  the  church  resolves  to  have  an  endowed  colleo-e,  we 
shall  have  it.  Not  paper  resolutions,  but  heart  and  pocket  resolu- 
tions are  meant.  Small  contributions  from  our  entire  membership 
can  be  secured,  if  the  ministry  will  do  their  duty.  This  general 
action  is  the  first  great  lever  to  prize  up  big  donations.  It  was  to 
Union  College,  long  fostered  by  the  gifts  of  a  multitude  of  poor 
people,  that  Dr.  Nott  gave  six  hundred  thousand  dollars.  "He 
that  hath  to  him  shall  be  given,"  is  the  law  in  college  endowment. 
General  action,  even  from  the  poor  will  make  our  colleges  a  suc- 
cess. •  The  tax  of  one  peck  of  corn  on  the  poor  colonists  of  Massa- 
chusetts saved  Harvard  College,  and  attracted  large  gifts  even  from 
England, 

Let  not  our  people  foster  the   mistaken  notion  that  we  are 


526  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  vi. 

top  poor  to  endow  our  colleges.  Count  over  how  much  was  lost 
by  members  of  our  church  in  your  county  by  the  war.  They  bore 
that  loss  and  yet  live.  But  they  pleaded  poverty  before  the  war 
just  as  much  as  they  do  now.  Suppose  half  as  much  as  has  been 
lost  had  been  given  to  the  church,  could  the  donors  not  have  sup- 
ported their  families  and  lived  happily  ?  Look  around  you  and  see 
what  the  members  of  the  church  are  paying  for  railroads.  Yes, 
and  still  the  donors  live. 

Our  men  of  large  wealth  have  given  us  no  examples  of  liber- 
ality proportionate  to  their  ability.  There  is  a  wide  field  open  for 
usefulness,  for  happiness,  for  honorable  distinction — open  to  any 
wealthy  man  among  us  who  will  break  the  long  spell  of  parsimony, 
and  lead  our  rich  men  in  deeds  of  munificence.  Alumni  of  Cum- 
berland Presbyterian  colleges,  the  cause  of  learning  in  our  church 
cries  out  to  you  for  help. 


Chapter  XLV.]  WaYNESBURG   COLLEGE.  j  527 


CHAPTER   XLV. 


WAYNESBURG  COLLEGE,  LINCOLN   UNIVERSITY, 
AND  TRINITY  UNIVERSITY. 

Delve  we  there  for  richer  gems 
Than  the  stars  of  diadems. 

— James  Montgomery. 

BESIDES  the  university  at  Lebanon,  Tennessee,  whose  work 
is  described  in  the  last  chapter,  Cumberland  Presbyterians 
have  three  other  principal  educational  centers.  These  are  Waynes- 
burg  College,  at  Waynesburg,  Pennsylvania,  in  the  eastern  part  of 
the  territory  occupied  by  our  people;  Lincoln  University,  in  the 
North-west,  at  Lincoln,  Illinois;  and  Trinity  University,  in  the 
extreme  South-west,  at  Tehuacana,  Texas.  The  object  of  this 
chapter  is  to  sketch  the  history  of  these  three  institutions. 

WAYNESBURG  COLLEGE. 

Some  account  of  the  first  efforts  of  our  people  in  Pennsylvania 
and  Ohio  to  establish  denominational  schools  is  necessary  as  an 
introduction  to  the  history  of  Waynesburg  College.  We  have 
positive  evidence  that  the  missionaries  who  planted  the  first  Cum- 
berland Presbyterian  churches  in  Pennsylvania  recognized  the 
importance  of  education,  and  the  necessity  for  an  institution  of 
learning  on  that  eastern  border  of  our  denominational  field.  The 
Rev.  Le  Roy  Woods,  who  began  his  labors  in  that  State  in  1832, 
testifies"  that:  "  To  educate  up  to  a  high  standard  was  a  fixed  pur- 
pose with  Morgan  and  Bryan.  Milton  Bird  occupied  no  equivo- 
cal position  in  reference  to  this  question.  Donnell,  Burrow,  Chap- 
man, Aston,   Shook — indeed  all  who  took  an  active  part  in  the 

'Q^ioted  from  the  Religious  Pantagraph  by  Dr.  A.  B.  Miller  in  his  article  on 
Waynesburg  College  in  the  Theological  Medium,  Vol.  XIV.  pp.  63-118,  January, 
1878.  Dr.  Miller  gives  a  very  full  and  satisfactory  history  of  the  institution  over 
which  he  has  so  long  and  so  ably  presided,  and  many  of  the  facts  in  this  sketch  are 
gleaned  from  his  article. 


528  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       (Period  vi. 

commencement  of  our  work   in   Pennsylvania  —  were  outspoken 
friends  of  education — of  collegiate  education." 

These  pioneers  showed  their  faith  on  this  subject  by  their  works. 
The  Pennsylvania  Synod  at  its  first  meeting,  which  was  held  at 
Uniontown,  Pennsylvania,  October,  1838,  passed  "a  resolution 
encouraging  the  presbyteries  to  foster  their  educational  interests." 
This  synod  at  that  time  was  made  up  of  three  presbyteries,  Penn- 
sylvania and  Union  in  western  Penns)-lvania,  and  Athens,  in  Ohio. 
Each  of  these  presbyteries  "was  making  an  effort  to  furnish  the 
facilities  necessary  to  the  liberal  education  of  the  }'outh  under  its 
influence."  ' 

Greene  Academy,  at  Carmichaels,  Greene  county,  Pennsylvania, 
in  the  bounds  of  Pennsylvania  Presbjter}'-,  "was  largely  under 
Cumberland  Presbyterian  control,  though  it  never  sustained  any 
ecclesiastical  relation."  The  Rev.  Joshua  Loughran,  a  Cumberland 
Presbyterian  minister,  was  its  principal.  "The  congregation  at 
Carmichaels  was  one  of  the  first  organized  in  western  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  under  the  blessing  of  God  grew  in  numbers,  strength, 
and  usefulness. ' '  The  influence  of  the  Rev.  Le  Roy  Woods  and 
the  Rev.  S.  E.  Hudson,  who  were  successively  pastors  of  this 
church,  did  much  to  make  Greene  Academy  an  ally  of  Cumberland 
Presbyterians.  IVIany  candidates  for  the  ministn,'  were  attracted  to 
this  school.  Among  our  well-known  and  useful  preachers  who 
were  in  part  educated  here  were  A.  J.  Baird,  Philip  and  Luther 
Axtell,  Samuel  McCollum,  J.  W.. Cleaver,  J.  S.  Gibson,  and  A.  B. 
Miller.  A.  J.  Baird  for  several  terms  did  good  service  as  assistant 
teacher  in  this  institution. 

In  the  bounds  of  Union  Presbytery,  at  Uniontown,  PennsN'l- 
vania,  was  INIadison  College.  In  1838  this  institution  was  under 
the  controlling  influence  of  Cumberland  Presbyterians,  though  the 
nominal  control  was  in  the  hands  of  a  board  of  trustees,  which, 
according  to  the  statement  of  the  Rev.  J.  P.  Weethee,^  "consisted  of 
forty-five  members,  scattered  through  a  dozen  States."  This  school 
was  probably  established  near  the  beginning  of  the  century.     Ac- 

'  Dr.  A.  B.  Miller,  in  Thcoloffical  Medium. 

'  See  his  "  Review  of  Dr.  Miller's  Sketch,"  in  Theological  Medium^  Vol.  XIV. 

p-  345.  J"ij  i^rS- 


/ 


Rev.    JOHN     MORGAN. 
The     Only      Existing     Likeness. 


530  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  vi. 

He  was  far  on  his  way  to  the  end  of  his  race,  and  was  so  feeble 
that  he  could  scarcely  talk.  After  an  interview  of  considerable  length, 
during  which  we  had  in  a  very  friendly  manner  reviewed  the  jjast  and 
endeavored  to  forecast  the  future  of  our  cause  in  Pennsylvania,  when  I 
announced  to  him  that  I  would  have  to  go,  with  much  effort  he  arose 
from  his  couch,  straightened  himself  to  his  full  height,  and  looking  me 
full  in  the  face  with  an  expression  that  I  can  never  forget,  he  asked  in 
an  easy  and  familiar  way,  "Woods,  how  is  Greene  Academy  getting 
along.'"'  I  gave  him  an  appropriate  answer.  He  then  asked  how  many 
candidates  were  there.  I  gave  him  the  number.  I  approached  to  bid 
him  farewell.  He  took  my  hand  in  his,  then  hot  with  the  fever  that 
was  consuming  him,  and  said,  with  a  tone  of  voice  and  with  an  ear- 
nestness of  manner  which  showed  clearly  the  deep  interest  he  felt  in 
the  subject,  and  with  a  pressure  of  the  hand  more  eloquent  than  words, 
"Do  n't  give  up  your  school — hang  on  to  it."  Then,  referring  to  Bryan, 
in  Pittsburg,  and  Bird,  on  Tenmile,  both  settled  pastors  but  not  con- 
nected with  any  school,  he  said,  "they  may  have  an  easier  time,  and 
receive  a  better  compensation  than  we,  but  our  schools  will  be  doing 
good  after  we  are  in  our  graves." 

During  Mr.  Weetliee's  administration  this  question  was  brought 
before  the  board  of  trustees:  "Are  females,  matriculated  and  pur- 
suing a  college  course,  students  in  the  eye  of  the  law?"  This  ques- 
tion was  decided  in  the  affirmative,  and  Mr.  Weethee  says  this 
decision  made  Madison  College  "perhaps  the  first  co-educational 
college  in  the  Union." 

In  the  spring  of  1842  there  was  a  serious  rupture  between  the 
president  and  the  board  of  trustees,  and  Weethee,  Bird,  and  Free- 
man resigned;  and  the  college  passed  for  a  time  into  the  hands  of 
the  Presbyterians.  Of  his  own  labors  in  this  school,  and  his  final 
resignation,  Mr.  Weethee  says: 

My  recitations  began  at  sunrise,  and  continued  through  the  day.  I 
often  heard  twenty  classes  daily.  To  keep  the  college  in  motion,  I  at 
different  times  was  called  to  fill  every  professorship.  As  the  institution 
prospered  and  became  an  object  of  interest  "  worth  having,"  the  oppo- 
sition increased,  until  finally  by  a  general  union  of  Presbyterian,  Meth- 
.  odist,  and  Episcopal  members  of  the  board,  .  .  .  the  opposition  secured 
a  majority  of  the  votes.  A  change  of  administration  being  contem- 
plated, and  being  well  assured  that  the  institution  was  lost  to  our  church, 
I  resigned. 

Two  years  after  Weetliee's  resignation  the  college  was  practically 


Chapter  XLV.]  WAYNESBURG   COLLEGE).  531 

dead.  The  trustees  heartily  ' '  repented  of  their  folly  in  dispossess- 
ing Cumberland  Presbyterians,  and  were  quite  ready  to  invoke 
their  aid  once  more."  In  1844  they  were  in  correspondence  with 
Pennsylvania  Synod.  That  body  at  its  meeting  in  the  autumn  of 
this  year  resolved  "that  the  synod  ought  to  take  the  necessary 
steps  to  secure  the  control ' '  of  Madison  College.  To  carry  out 
this  resolution  a  committee  was  appointed  "  to  offer  proposals  "  to 
the  trustees.  In  1845  the  synod  adopted  a  report,  "which  sets 
forth  that  the  trustees  of  Madison  College  had  given  it  into  the 
synod's  control." 

The  Rev.  A.  Freeman  was  again  elected  as  a  professor,  and  an 
earnest  effort  was  made  to  revive  this  college.  Some  students  were 
gathered  during  the  winter,  and  with  the  opening  of  the  spring 
term  an  additional  professor  was  appointed.  But  there  was  "only 
feeble,  faint-hearted  co-operation  on  the  part  of  the  synod,"  and  the 
number  of  students  was  not  encouraging.  In  the  autumn  of  1846 
"  the  two  professors  resigned,  and  the  synod  relinquished  all  care 
and  control."  Thus  ended  the  connection  of  our  people  with  Mad- 
ison College. 

Within  the  bounds  of  Athens  Presbyter}'-,  at  Beverly,  Ohio,  in 
1838,  Benjamin  Dana  bequeathed  certain  coal  lands  to  an  academy 
to  be  built  at  that  town.  In  1842,  John  Dodge,  of  Beverly,  deeded 
several  lots  to  the  Rev.  Charles  R.  Barclay,  in  trust,  ' '  for  the  pur- 
pose and  to  the  use  of  education  at  and  within  the  Muskingum 
College  (afterward  called  Beverly  College)  now  erected  or  hereafter 
to  be  erected  on  said  real  estate,  under  and  by  the  exclusive  direc- 
tion and  control  of  the  Pennsylvania  Synod  of  the  Cumberland 
Presbyterian  church  forever."  A  three-story  brick  building,  which 
still  stands,  was  erected  on  one  of  these  lots  for  the  intended  college. 

In  1840  the  Pennsylvania  Synod  had  discussed  this  question: 
Shall  the  Synod  co-operate  with  the  General  Assembly  in  support- 
ing Cumberland  College,  at  Princeton,  Kentucky,  or  undertake  to 
establish  a  school  of  high  order  within  its  own  bounds  ?  A  report 
was  adopted  by  which  the  synod  resolved  "  to  act  in  its  individual 
capacity,"  and  to  raise  a  fund  of  thirty  thousand  dollars  for  the 
endowment  of  a  synodical  college.  A  board  of  twelve  trustees  was 
elected,  with  authority: 


532  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  vi. 

1.  To  make  proposals  to  any  Ijoard  of  trustees  within  the  bounds  of 
the  synod,  or  to  any  number  of  men  who  shall  be  incorporated  within 
Pennsylvania,  for  the  purpose  of  securing  the  erection  of  a  college 
building. 

2.  To  accept  such  terms  as,  in  the  clearest  convictions  of  their  judg- 
ments, atlbrd  the  greatest  advantages  to  the  synod. 

The  Rev,  J.  P.  Weethee,  whose  name  stands  first  in  the  list  of 
these  twelve  trustees,  informs  us  that  this  board  located  the  pro- 
posed synodical  college  at  Beverly,  Ohio,  "induced  to  that  action 
by  the  Dodge  and  Dana  grants,"  and  that  this  was  the  real  origin 
of  Beverly  Col-ege.  A  liberal  charter  was  granted  to  this  institu- 
tion by  the  legislature  of  Ohio,  in  1843.  ^^^'  Weethee  was  elected 
to  the  presidency.     He  says: 

I  removed  to  Beverly  in  the  fall  of  1842,  and  took  charge  of  the 
students  I  could  find.  The  location  of  the  college  was  soon  found  to 
be  not  what  we  had  anticipated.  The  town  population  was  then  incon- 
siderable, and  the  surrounding  country  was  divided  in  its  patronage  by 
the  Ohio  University  and  Marietta  College.  Our  denomination  was 
weak,  and  could  aflord  us  but  a  few  students.  The  college  building 
was  not  sufficiently  finished  to  be  occupied.  The  winter  that  followed 
was  very  severe  and  protracted.  We  made  our  hotel  room  our  recita- 
tion room.  .  .  .  The  Dodge  and  Dana  bequests  did  not  then  yield  a 
dime,  and  we  were  left  with  scarcely  enough  to  discharge  our  board 
bills. 

How  long  Mr.  Weethee  continued  his  efforts  in  this  school  we 
are  not  informed,  nor  do  we  know  wdio  were  his  successors  in  the 
direct  work  of  teaching.  In  1848  the  synod  recommended  "the, 
tender  of  the  Beverly  property  to  the  General  Assembly  for  the  use 
of  a  theological  seminary."  Reports  were  adopted  in  1849  ^"^ 
1850,  deploring  the  condition  of  this  college;  and  in  1851  a  com- 
mittee summed  up  the  state  of  things  in  these  words:  "No  school 
in  operation  at  present,  no  agent  in  the  field  to  solicit  funds  for  the 
institution,  no  endowment  fund  on  hand,  no  apparatus,  no  librarj-, 
no  professors  or  teachers."  This  institution  never  had  a  graduate, 
and  it  can  scarcely  be  said  that  it  "ever  had  an  existence  as  a  col- 
lege. ' '  After  the  Ohio  Synod  was  formed  in  1853,  the  management 
of  this  school  was  handed  over  to  that  body,  though,  by  some  neg- 
lect or  oversight,  the  charter  was  never  so  changed  as  to  transfer  the 


Chapter  XLV.]  WaYNESBURG   C0I.I.EGE.  533 

legal  control  and  the  ownership  of  the  property  from  Pennsylvania 
Synod  to  Ohio  Synod. 

The  efforts  of  Pennsylvania  Synod  to  adopt  and  build  up  Mad- 
ison College  had  failed;  the  hopes  of  those  who  had  desired  to 
make  Beverly  College  the  educational  center  of  the  synod  had  also 
been  disappointed.  Our  people  had  no  legal  title  to  Greene  Acad- 
emy— no  assurance  that  the  control  of  its  affairs  might  not  at  any 
time  be  taken  out  of  their  hands.  Therefore,  in  April,  1849,  Penn- 
sylvania Presbytery  declared  that  its  educational  interests  impe- 
riously demanded  that  an  institution  of  learning  should  be  estab- 
lished in  its  bounds,  and  appointed  a  committee  of  five  "to  receive 
proposals  for  the  location  and  establishment  of  such  an  institu- 
tion." When  the  presbytery  met  in  the  autumn  following  the 
committee  reported  proposals  from  Waynesburg  and  Carmichaels, 
both  in  Greene  County,  Pennsylvania.  "Waynesburg  offered  a 
considerably  larger  sum  than  Carmichaels  for  the  erection  of  a 
building,  and  was  chosen  as  the  location  of  what  finally  became 
the  educational  enterprise  of  the  whole  church  in  Pennsylvania." 
The  same  autumn  "the  Rev.  Joshua  Loughran  left  Greene  Acad- 
emy and  went  to  Waynesburg,  where  he  built  up  a  high  school 
simultaneously  v/ith  the  preliminary  steps  of  the  presbytery  for 
the  founding  of  a  college,  and  which  school  was  merged  into  the 
college." 

The  new  building,  ' '  a  three-story  brick  edifice,  seventy  by  fifty 
feet,"  was  erected  by  the  citizens  of  Waynesburg  at  a  cost  of  six 
thousand  dollars.  Work  on  it  was  begun  in  the  spring  of  1850, 
and  it  was  fully  completed  in  the  fall  of  the  following  year.  "  On 
the  first  Tuesday  in  November,  1851,  the  college  went  into  formal 
operation  in  this  new  building."  The  Rev.  Joshua  Loughran, 
A.M.,  had  been  chosen  president,  the  Rev.  R.  M.  Fish,  A.B.,  Pro- 
fessor of  Mathematics,  and  A.  B.  Miller  and  Frank  Patterson, 
tutors.  Miss  Margaret  K.  Bell  had  been  employed  in  the  fall  of 
1850  to  take  charge  of  a  school  for  3^oung  ladies,  with  the  design 
of  founding  a  female  seminary  in  connection  with  the  college. 
She  became  principal  of  what  was  afterward  known  as  the  Female 
Department.  Three  young  ladies  were  graduated  in  this  depart- 
ment in  the  autumn  of  1852. 


534  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  vi. 

A  year  later,  September  28,  1853,  the  first  Commencement  in 
the  college  proper  was  held.  At  this  time,  besides  four  young 
ladies  who  received  diplomas  from  the  Female  Department,  four 
young  men,  among  them  A.  B.  Miller,  were  graduated  in  the  reg- 
ular college  course. 

The  charter,  which  was  granted  in  March,  1850,  placed  the 
government  of  the  college  in  the  hands  of  a  board  of  trustees,  a 
majority  of  whom  were  to  be  elected  by  Pennsylvania  Presbytery. 
In  1853  the  college  was  transferred  to  the  control  of  Pennsylvania 
Synod.  Since  then  all  the  educational  efforts  of  our  church  on 
its  eastern  border  have  been  concentrated  in  this  institution.  Dr. 
Miller  sums  up  the  precise  relations  of  the  Cumberland  Presbyte- 
rian church  to  Waynesburg  College  in  these  words: 

1.  The  charter  secures  to  the  synod  the  perpetual  use  of  the  prop- 
erty, provided  the  synod  sustains  therein  at  least  three  professors.  (The 
charter  makes  no  requirement  as  to  the  manner  in  which  the  professors 
are  to  be  supported.) 

2.  Of  the  twenty-one  trustees,  the  charter  grants  to  the  synod  the 
appointment  of  twelve.  (The  synod  has,  in  fact,  for  twenty-four  years, 
appointed  the  whole  number  of  trustees.) 

3.  By  mutual  agreement  it  is  a  by-law  that  the  trustees  shall  elect 
no  person  to  a  professorship  until  the  synod  has  first  nominated  the 
person  for  the  place. 

4.  The  endowment  fund  of  the  college  is  held  by  another  board, 
styled  "The  Board  of  Trust  of  the  College  Endowment  Fund  of  Penn- 
sylvania Synod,"  consisting  of  five  members  appointed  by  the  synod, 
and  acting  under  a  charter  securing  to  this  board  all  needful  powers 
and  perpetual  succession. 

Prof.  Fish  having  resigned,  the  Rev.  A.  B.  I\Iiller  was  elected 
to  *the  chair  of  Mathematics,  October,  1853,  at  a  salary'  of  three 
hundred  dollars  a  year.  The  want  of  an  adequate  financial  sup- 
port was  probably  the  chief  cause  of  the  resignation  of  President 
Ivoughran,  which  took  place  Augiist,  1855.  During  his  connec- 
tion with  the  college  Mr.  Loughran  also  preached  to  the  Waynes- 
burg congregation.  Dr.  Miller  testifies  that  he  possessed  "excel- 
lencies that  made  him  a  valuable  man  in  the  class-room; "  that  he 
was  "a  great  reader,  a  good  thinker,  and  could  hold  a  class  spell- 
bound for  an  hour,"  and  make  a  "recitation  in  his  room  a  de- 


Chapter  XLV.]  WaYNESBURG   COLLEGE.  535 

light."  But  lie  was  unable  or  unwilling  to  grapple  with  the 
financial  difficulties  which  beset  the  college,  and  so  yielded  its 
management  to  other  hands. 

The  s}nod  nominated  the  Rev.  J.  P.  Weethee  as  Mr.  Lough- 
ran' s  successor,  and  he  was  elected  president  by  the  board  of 
trustees.  Though  Mr.  Weethee  had  ceased  to  be  a  Cumberland 
Presbyterian,  and  at  that  time  "did  not  belong  to  any  denomina- 
tion," '  yet  he  professed  unabated  attachment  to  our  church;  and 
his  doctrinal  views,  as  explained  by  himself,  were  thought  by  the 
synod  "to  be  no  serious  barrier  to  his  nomination."^ 

Dr.  Miller  says:  "Mr.  Weethee  entered  upon  his  duties  with  a 
strong  popular  sentiment  in  his  favor.  .  .  .  He  brought  into  the 
college  a  spirit  of  improvement,  and  an  earnest  purpose  to  build 
up,  and  the  first  year  of  his  labors  was  marked  with  decided  prog- 
ress." But  difficulties  afterward  arose,  growing  in  part  out  of 
dissatisfaction  with  the  new  president's  peculiar  religious  views,  and 
in  part  out  of  questions  connected  with  the  internal  management 
of  the  institution.  At  the  end  of  the  third  year  of  his  presidency, 
in  the  autumn  of  1858,  on  account  of  these  difficulties,  and  because 
he  "was  not  paid  according  to  contract,"  Mr.  Weethee  resigned. 

The  friends  of  the  college  were  much  discouraged,  and  "  feared 
that  this  educational  effort  would  terminate  in  a  repetition  of  the 
Madison  College  trouble. ' '  Some  advocated  the  re-election  of  the 
Rev.  Joshua  Ivoughran  to  the  presidency,  and  he  was  written  to  on 
the  subject ;  ' '  but  having  been  once  starved  out,  he  made  conditions 
which  the  synod  pronounced  impracticable.  "3  The  Hon.  John  C, 
Flenniken  was  made  president  pro  tern.  The  Rev.  S.  H.  Jeffery, 
A.M.,  pastor  of  the  Waynesburg  Presbyterian  church,  was  called 
to  the  chair  of  Natural  Science,  and  the  Rev.  A.  J,  McGlumphy, 
who  had  just  graduated,  was  appointed  Professor  of  Mathematics. 
The  real  work  of  managing  the  internal  affairs  of  the  institution 
fell  on  the  Rev.  A.  B.  Miller,  who  was  vice-president  by  priority 
of  appointment.  Mrs.  Miller  (formerly  Miss  Margaret  K.  Bell)  was 
still  principal  of  the  Female  Department,  and  continued  in  this 
position  until  her  death  in  1874. 

'Weethee's  Review  of  Dr.  Miller's  Sketch,  Theological  Medium,  July,  1S7S. 
^Dr.  Miller,  Ibid.,  January,  1S78.         3  Dr.  Miller. 


536  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  vi. 

Dr.  Miller  was  duly  nominated  and  elected  to  the  presidency 
in  the  fall  of  1859.  At  the  same  time  Milton  E.  Garrison,  A.M., 
a  graduate  of  Allegheny  College,  Meadville,  Pennsylvania,  was 
elected  Professor  of  Greek  and  Latin.  A  year  later  W.  G.  vScott, 
A.  M. ,  became  Professor  of  Mathematics. 

Of  the  condition  and  prospects  of  the  college  when  he  was 
called  to  the  presidency,  and  of  his  perplexing  and  responsible 
duties,  Dr.  Miller  says: 

A  debt  of  over  three  thousand  dollars  hung  upon  the  college.  My 
salary  was  very  inadequate;  and,  worse,  there  was  no  reasonable  ground 
of  hope  that  it  would  be  paid  if  the  other  necessary  professors  were 
employed  and  paid.  Dissension  had  turned  a  portion  of  the  commu- 
nity against  the  college,  and  had  begotten  in  the  public  mind  a  feeling 
of  distrust  in  regard  to  the  future.  Accepting  the  position,  and  going 
to  work  under  these  unpromising  circumstances,  it  seemed  to  me  more 
like  an  effort  to  make  a  college  than  the  honor  of  presiding  over  one — 
nor  have  I  yet  outgrown  that  feeling.  My  special  aims  were,  first,  to 
get  the  college  out  of  debt,  and  to  establish  confidence  in  its  value  and 
permanence.  To  accomplish  the  former,  and  to  keep  the  necessary 
teaching  force  in  the  college  without  incurring  debt,  has  been  the  con- 
stant  ever-perplexing  problem  through  all  these  years.  After  looking 
in  vain  for  other  sources  of  reliable  pecuniary  dependence,  I  found  it 
necessary  to  assume  toward  the  college,  in  fact,  the  relation  of  president, 
financial  agent,  and  board  of  trustees.  Taught  by  bitter  experience 
how  great  are  these  cares  thus  thrown  on  a  college  president,  and  ad- 
mitting that  ordinarily  such  a  course  could  promise  only  financial  ruin' 
I  must  record  my  profound  conviction  that  in  this  case  nothing  but  the 
unbounded  liberty  allowed  me  in  the  management  of  the  college  could 
have  saved  it  from  hopeless  failure. 

As  tutor  and  professor  and  president,  Dr.  IMiller  has  labored 
incessantly  in  this  institution  for  nearly  thirty-six  years,  and  is  still 
at  his  post  faithful  to  his  life-time  work  of  building  up  a  Cumber- 
land Presbyterian  college  in  Pennsylvania.  In  his  article  already 
quoted,  he  says: 

I  have  been  compelled  to  preach  in  order  to  live,  sometimes  supply- 
ing points  twenty  miles  distant;  I  have  been  compelled  to  deny  myself 
books  greatly  needed;  to  stay  at  home  when  I  should  have  traveled;  to 
walk  many  miles  because  I  could  not  afllbrd  to  pay  hack  fare;  to  be 
harassed  with  debts  that  have  eaten  up  the  mind  as  cancers  eat  the 
flesh;  in  short,  to  do  a  great  many  things,  and  to  leave  undone  a  great 


Chapter  XLV.]  WaYNESBURG   COLLEGE.  537 

many  things,  which  doing-  and  not  doing  greatly  hindered  my  usefuhiess 
as  a  public  servant  of  the  church.  I  once  turned  superintendent  of 
schools,  and  walked  all  over  Greene  county  in  order  to  save  a  little 
money,  and  still  the  college  went  on,  while  the  nation  was  fighting  its 
battles.  At  another  time  I  edited  the  Czi7nbcrla7id  Presbytei-ian^  did 
all  the  necessary  correspondence  of  the  office,  and  kept  the  books,  at 
the  same  time  teaching  six  hours  a  day  In  the  college,  exercising  gen- 
eral oversight  of  its  financial  affairs,  and  often  preaching  Kvice  on  the 
Sabbath. 

Through  all  the  years  until  lier  death  (1874),  Mrs.  Miller,  as 
principal  of  the  Female  Department,  was  lier  husband's  faithful 
co-worker.  To  the  young  ladies  under  lier  charge  "she  was  at 
once  a  teacher,  a  counselor,  a  sympathizing  friend. ' '  She  labored 
almost  without  pecuniary  return,  her  salary  being  "for  a  long  time 
three  hundred  dollars  a  year,  and  never  over  four  hundred  dollars," 
and  the  full  sum  of  even  this  pittance  was  not  paid  for  any  year. 
Through  twenty-four  years  her  time  and  strength  were  given  with 
the  utmost  unselfishness  and  enthusiasm  to  this  work.  She  really 
sacrificed  her  life  to  build  up  this  institution.  Without  her  brave 
self-denying  work  and  influence,  the  enterprise  would  probably 
have  failed.  In  addition  to  duties  in  her  home,  which  was  con- 
stantly open  for  the  entertainment  of  the  friends  of  the  college, 
she  usually  taught  six  hours  a  day.  "It  can  not  be  doubted  that 
her  early  death  was  the  result  of  exhaustion  from  overwork." 

Since  1852  Waynesburg  College  has  each  year  sent  forth  a  class 
of  educated  men  and  v/omen,  many  of  whom  have  filled  important 
places  of  trust  and  usefulness;  and  their  influence  and  work  have 
been  no  inconsiderable  factor  in  promoting  the  progress  of  the 
Cumberland  Presbyterian  church.  The  largest  class  ever  gradu- 
ated by  this  institution  was  that  of  1873,  consisting  of  twenty  mem- 
bers— eight  young  women  and  twelve  young  men.  The  same  year 
the  college  had  three  hundred  students,  the  largest  number  ever 
reported  in  attendance.  The  first  five  Cumberland  Presbyterian 
missionaries  sent  to  Japan  were  all  graduates  of  this  school, 

Waynesburg  College  has  not  only  sent  forth  preachers  and  mis- 
sionaries, but  it  has  furnished  many  successful  teachers  to  other 
schools  and  colleges,  and  has  trained  up  its  own  most  valued  and 
efficient  teachers  and  professors.     As  has  been  seen,  Dr.  Miller  was 


538  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  vi, 

himself  a  member  of  the  first  graduating  class.  Prof.  W.  G.  Scott, 
who  has  so  long  and  vvlth  snch  ability  filled  tlie  chair  of  Mathe- 
matics, was  a  member  of  the  class  of  1857.  When  Prof  ]\I.  E. 
Garrison  died,  April  7,  1870,  after  ten  years  of  valuable  service  as 
Professor  of  Greek  and  Latin,  the  vacancy  thus  caused  was  filled 
temporarily  by  J.  W.  Freeland,  A.B. ,  who  graduated  in  1868. 
Afterward  J.  M.  Garrison,  A.B.,  a  member  of  the  class  of  1870, 
was  appointed  to  this  chair.  He  was  succeeded  in  1872  by  J.  ^I. 
Crow,  A.B.,  who  had  received  his  diploma  from  the  college  the 
year  before.  After  teaching  a  year  he  spent  two  }-ears  in  Germany 
and  Switzerland  prosecuting  his  studies.  Returning  in  1875,  he 
resumed  his  work  in  the  college,  Avinning  great  popularity;  but  on 
account  of  the  insufficiency  of  his  salary  he  resigned  his  position. 
He  was  not  the  first  nor  the  last  valued  instructor  whom  this  insti- 
tution has  lost  by  reason  of  its  meager  financial  resources.  John 
F.  White,  B.S.,  who  was  graduated  in  the  same  class  w4th  Prof 
Crow,  was  made  Professor  of  Natural  Science.  Going  to  Han-ard 
University  to  pursue  his  chemical  studies,  he  was  made  assistant 
professor  there,  continuing  several  years  in  that  position.  Prof 
Albert  McGinnis,  A.M.,  who  graduated  in  1878,  and  afterward 
studied  in  Leipsic,  Germany,  was  elected  to  the  chair  of  Greek  and 
Latin,  and  proved  a  most  thorough  and  successful  teacher.  He 
recently  resigned  this  position  to  accept  the  chair  of  Belles-Lettres 
and  the  vice-presidency  of  Lincoln  University,  Illinois. 

Among  other  graduates  of  Waynesburg  College  who  served  for 
a  time  as  members  of  its  faculty  were  James  R.  Rineliart,  Lewis 
Sayers,  John  S.  Hughes,  H.  D.  Patton,  J.  C.  Gw)'nu,  and  A.  T. 
Silveus.  Among  the  ladies  who,  after  their  graduation  from  this 
institution,  proved  efficient  teachers  in  it,  Dr.  IMiller  mentions  Miss 
Martha  Bayard,  now  Mrs.  J.  ]\L  Howard,  of  Nashville,  Tennessee; 
Miss  Minerva  Lindsey,  nov/  IVIrs.  A.  Freeman,  of  Colorado;  INIiss 
Juliet  E.  Barclay,  now  Mrs.  Wilson,  of  Iowa;  Miss  M.  C.  Carter, 
afterward  Mrs.  W.  L.  Parkinson,  and  since  deceased;  IMiss  M.  Lou 
Hager,  now  Mrs.  M.  L.  Smith,  of  Illinois;  Mrs.  Estelle  Biddle 
Clark,  now  of  Nashville,  Tennessee;  and  Miss  Emma  J.  Downey, 
afterward  Mrs.  S.  F.  Hoge,  now  deceased. 

As  the  Theological  School,  as  well  as  all  the  other  departments 


Chapter  XLV.]  WaYNESBURG    COLLEGE.  "   539 

of  Cumberland  University,  at  Lebanon,  Tennessee,  was  closed  dur- 
ing the  civil  war,  tlie  necessity  for  some  facilities  for  the  theolog- 
ical training  of  our  }-oung  men  preparing  for  the  ministry  became 
pressing.  From  the  IMinutes  of  the  General  Assembly  we  learn 
that  Pennsylvania  Synod,  in  connection  with  the  board  of  trustees 
of  Waynesburg  College,  was,  in  1863,  "making  efforts  to  establish 
a  Chair  of  Theolog>'."  The  Rev.  S.  T.  Anderson,  D.D.,  was 
elected  to  this  professorship.  He  entered  upon  his  duties  in  the 
autumn  of  1864,  and  was  also  made  vice-president  of  the  college. 
In  connection  with  his  duties  as  pastor  of  the  Waynesburg  congre- 
gation, he  did  good  ser\dce  for  several  years  as  teacher  of  Hebrew 
and  ethics.  This  theological  professorship,  being  without  endow- 
ment, was  not  made  permanent.  No  successor  to  Dr.  Anderson 
was  elected. 

In  the  autumn  of  1873  "the  purpose  to  erect  a  new  building 
for  the  college  was  projected."  A  magnificent  edifice,  with  splen- 
did rooms  for  recitations,  for  libraries,  apparatus,  and  all  other  re- 
quirements of  a  first-class'  college,  was  planned.  In  the  erection 
of  this  building  debts  have  been  avoided,  and  the  progress  of  the 
work  has  therefore  been  slow.  Most  of  the  rooms  are  now  finished, 
and  it  is  "the  finest  single  college  building  in  western  Pennsyl- 
vania," and  by  far  the  most  beautiful  and  imposing  structure  of 
the  kind  ever  erected  by  Cumberland  Presbyterians. 

We  have  already  seen  that  in  1840,  when  Pennsylvania  Synod 
decided  to  act  in  its  own  individual  capacity  in  establishing  and 
sustaining  a  college,  it  resolved  to  raise  thirty  thousand  dollars  for 
endowment.  Pennsylvania  Presbyter^',  ten  years  later,  when  it 
accepted  the  control  of  Waynesburg  College,  determined  to  raise 
an  endowment,  and  again  the  mark  was  set  at  thirty  thousand  dol- 
lars. When  the  institution  was  handed  over  to  the  Synod's  con- 
trol, the  plan  already  adopted  by  the  presbytery  was  continued. 
The  congregations  were  canvassed  by  agents.  In  the  General 
Assembly  of  1853  the  Committee  on  Education  reported  that  the 
funds  for  the  endowment  of  this  school  were  in  part  already  raised. 
A  similar  report  next  year  says  the  endowment  then  secured  was 
from  three  thousand  to  five  thousand  dollars.  In  1855  fifteen  thou- 
sand dollars  was  reported,  and  the  next  year  the  Minutes  state  that 


540 '  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  vi. 

nearly  thirty  thousand  dollars  had  been  recently  raised.  The  re- 
port of  1863  places  the  sum  at  twenty-five  thousand  dollars;  that 
of  1865  at  thirty-five  thousand  dollars.  In  succeeding  years  still 
larger  sums  were  reported. 

Up  to  1881  all  the  endowment  raised  for  this  institution  was  by 
the  sale  of  scholarships,  A  perpetual  scholarship  was  sold  for  one 
hundred  dollars,  and  a  full  course  scholarship  for  thirty  dollars. 
These  scholarships  were  transferable,  and  could  be  used  immedi- 
ately. Ten  or  twenty  thousand  dollars  raised  in  this  way  would 
create  scholarships  enough  to  crov/d  the  college  with  students 
without  yielding  an  income  large  enough  to  support  one  teacher. 
"It  was,"  says  Dr.  Miller,  "certainly  an  error  to  allow  students  to 
use  these  scholarshijDS  before  a  sufficient  fund  had  been  secured  to 
support  the  required  number  of  professors.  As  it  was,  the  plan 
left  no  tuition  fees,  and  but  little  in  the  stead."  Purchasers  were 
not  required  to  pay  actual  cash  for  the  scholarships,  but  only  gave 
their  notes,  with  the  privilege  of  retaining  the  principal  so  long  as 
they  paid  the  annual  interest.  This  interest  often  proved  hard  to 
collect,  and  many  of  the  notes  re]5orted  from  time  to  time  as  en- 
dowment proved  worthless.  President  Miller's  sketch,  written  in 
1878,  says:  "Any  thing  like  an  exact  estimate  of  the  amount  of 
reliable  endowment  at  this  time  can  not  be  given,  though  the 
amount  is  certainly  not  less  than  at  any  previous  period,  recent 
additions  fully  making  up  for  losses  during  the  last  three  years  of 
financial  failures." 

The  year  1881  was  observed  by  Pennsylvania  Cumberland  Pres- 
byterians as  a  sort  of  denominational  jubilee.  Fifty  years  before, 
the  missionaries  sent  by  the  General  Assembly  began  their  work  in 
that  field.  The  Pennsylvania  Sj'uod  had  recommended  that  an 
effort  should  be  made  to  raise  a  sum  sufficient  to  complete  the  en- 
dowment of  three  professorships  as  a  fit  offering  to  commemorate 
this  semi-centennial  year.  Thirty  thousand  dollars  was  afterward 
fixed  as  th.e  sum  to  be  raised  "as  a  semi-centennial  offering." 
Mainly  through  the  persistent  efforts  of  the  Rev.  P.  H.  Crider, 
cash  and  notes  reaching  this  amount  were  secured.  Efforts  fur- 
ther to  increase  the  endowment  are  still  continued,  and  the  finan- 
cial condition  of  the  school  is  now  more  hopeful  than  ever  before. 


Chapter  XLV.]  lylNCOLN   UNIVERSITY.  54I 

Up  to  the  year  1878  over  two  thousand  students  had  been  en- 
rolled in  the  several  classes  and  departments  of  Waynesburg  Col- 
lege. In  the  years  which  have  followed  hundreds  of  others  have 
been  added  to  the  list.  This  school  is  not  only  a  center  of  educa- 
tion and  culture,  but  it  has  exercised  a  permanent  and  wide-spread 
religious  influence.  It  has  been  the  center  of  numerous  revivals, 
in  some  of  which  nearly  every  student  has  been  enlisted  either 
as  a  worker  or  a  convert.  Speaking  of  the  importance  of  the 
work  and  influence  of  Waynesburg  College,  President  Miller  says: 
"The  money  put  into  this  institution,  the  prayers  of  the  church 
in  its  behalf,  and  the  labors  and  sacrifices  of  those  who  have  been 
its  faithful  instructors,  have  been  indeed  as  the  '  handful  of  corn 
in  the  earth  on  the  top  of  the  mountain, '  the  fruit  of  which  already 
shakes  like  Lebanon.  Standing  like  a  bulwark  and  a  lighthouse 
on  the  eastern  border  of  our  denomination,  it  seems  to  me  not 
only  indispensable  to  the  synod  that  controls  it,  but  in  some  meas- 
ure as  involving  in  its  future  career  the  destiny  of  the  Cumberland 
Presbyterian  church. ' ' 

LINCOLN   UNIVERSITY. 

Lincoln  University  was  founded  in  the  year  1864  by  the  Synods 
of  Indiana,  Sangamon,  Central  Illinois,  Illinois,  and  Iowa.  The 
civil  war  then  raging  had  so  divided  the  country  that  it  was  no 
longer  practicable  or  indeed  possible  for  the  churches  of  the  North- 
west to  patronize  the  schools  in  the  South.  These  churches  were 
compelled  to  establish  schools  for  the  education  of  their  children. 

Long  before  the  war  attempts  were  made  in  various  parts  of 
the  country  north  of  the  Ohio  to  found  schools  of  a  high  order. 
In  the  States  of  Ohio,  Pennsylvania,  Indiana,  Illinois,  and  Iowa 
academies  and  colleges  were  started,  and  many  of  them  accom- 
plished much  good  in  the  cause  of  Christian  education.  At  Vir- 
ginia, Illinois,  Union  College  did  good  ser^dce  for  a  number  of 
years.  The  same  may  be  said  of  Cherry  Grove  Seminary  and 
Mt.  Zion  Academy  in  Illinois,  and  Delany  Academy,  in  Indiana. 

When  the  States  of  the  North-west  established  public  schools, 
these  academies  for  the  want  of  sufficient  endowment  were  forced 
to  suspend  operations.      At  the  beginning  of  the  war  the  free 


542  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  vi. 

schools  were  in  full  blast,  and  they  were  at  that  time  very  popular. 
Private  and  deiiominatioiial  schools  were  almost  entirely  deserted. 
The  churches  of  all  denominations  saw  that  if  they  would  have 
the  education  of  their  children  under  their  own  care,  they  must 
build  schools  which  could  compete  with  and  even  surpass  tlie 
schools  of  the  State.  Long  years  of  struggle  and  anxiety  passed 
away.  Good  men  prayed  and  wrestled  with  the  grave  problem 
before  them.  At  the  meetings  of  presbyteries  and  synods,  and  in 
private  gatherings,  the  siibject  of  education  was  discussed. 

In  the  darkest  days  of  our  civil  strife  the  good  men  who  stood 
by  the  church  in  the  North-west  did  not  abandon  the  cause  of 
Christian  education.  It  has  often  been  charged  against  Cumber- 
land Presbyterians  that  they  oppose  education.  P>ut  no  better 
evidence  of  their  devotion  to  this  cause  can  be  given  than  the 
repeated  and  heroic  struggles  they  put  forth  in  the  North-west 
in  behalf  of  higher  education.  There  was  scarcely  a  presb\'tery 
in  all  that  region  that  did  not  attempt  to  establish  a  school  of 
hidi  orade.  All  their  efforts  were  not  successful,  nor  were  all  of 
them  wise  and  judicious,  but  the  zeal  of  the  people  is  to  be  com- 
mended if  their  judgment  is  not. 

The  war  caused  our  people  to  feel  more  keenly  and  deeply  than 
ever  before  the  need  of  schools,  and,  at  a  time  when  thousands 
were  faltering  and  ready  to  give  up,  the  idea  of  founding  Lincoln 
University  was  conceived.  It  is  not  known  who  was  the  first  to 
suggest  the  idea.  It  is  probable  that  the  suggestion  grew  out  of 
many  anxious  and  prayerful  conferences  of  brethren.  There  were 
at  that  time  a  number  of  educated  and  devoted  ministers  in  the 
territory  here  mentioned.  Among  this  number  none  stood  higher 
than  the  Rev.  Azel  Freeman,  D.  D.  He  lived  at  Newburgh,  Indiana, 
and  was  engaged  in  teaching  in  Delany  Academy  as  its  principal. 
He  was  a  man  of  great  and  earnest  piety,  a  most  devout  Christian 
scholar.  He  was  always  an  ardent  supporter  of  the  cause  of  learn- 
ing. The  Rev.  J.  B.  Logan,  D.D.,  a  man  of  great  energ}'  and 
activity,  was  editing  a  paper  at  Alton,  Illinois,  the  IVesiern  Cum- 
berland Presbyterian.  He  earnestly  advocated  the  establishment 
of  schools  for  the  better  education  of  the  rising  ministr>\  The 
columns  of  his  paper  were  open  for  the  discussion  of  this  subject. 


Chapter  XLV.]  LINCOLN   UNIVERSITY.  543 

Dr.  Freeman  wrote  many  articles  on  the  importance  of  a  well- 
endowed  school  in  the  West. 

It  was  in  the  Synod  of  Indiana,  I  think,  that  the  suggestion  of 
a  school  under  the  combined  patronage  of  the  five  synods  was  first 
made.  It  is  probable  that  the  resolution  passed  by  that  synod  was 
written  by  Dr.  Freeman.  At  any  rate  he  was  one  of  its  most  en- 
thusiastic advocates,  and  it  was  due  to  his  sagacity  and  urgent 
appeals  that  the  measure  got  before  the  Synods  of  Illinois  and 
Iowa.  When  the  proposition  was  once  made,  it  became  ver}^  pop- 
ular. All  over  the  three  States  the  matter  was  discussed  with  great 
earnestness  and  approved  with  great  unanimity. 

Commissioners  were  appointed  in  the  fall  of  1864  to  prosecute 
the  work.  They  wrote  and  talked  in  the  interest  of  the  new  move- 
ment. By  order  of  the  synods  they  advertised  for  bids  for  the 
location  of  the  institution.  Several  places  were  put  in  nomination. 
Newburgh,  Indiana,  and  Mt.  Zion,  Cherry  Grove,  Virginia,  and  Lin- 
coln, Illinois,  were  the  most  prominent  places  in  the  contest.  The 
commissioners  visited  each  of  the  rival  towns  and  heard  the  proposi- 
tions of  the  people.  Lincoln  was  finally  chosen  as  the  most  eligible 
and  suitable  location  for  the  new  school.  The  citizens  of  that  en- 
terprising and  flourishing  young  town  made  a  very  generous  offer. 
They  agreed  to  erect  a  building  worth  not  less  than  thirty  thousand 
dollars.  The  commissioners  on  their  part  pledged  the  church  for 
fifty  thousand  dollars  endowment.  The  agreement  was  that  the 
school  should  not  begin  operations  until  the  money  was  all  raised. 

A  board  of  trustees  was  appointed  and  a  charter  was  obtained. 
The  institution  was  chartered  as  a  university — a  great  mistake. 
Agents  were  sent  into  the  field  to  secure  endowment.  The  plan 
for  endowing  the  institution  was  devised  by  the  board  of  trustees. 
They  had  had  but  little  experience  ^n  the  work  of  building  and 
endowing  universities.  They  adopted  the  plan  of  selling  scholar- 
ships, in  order  to  secure  the  needed  fund.  Scholarships  giving 
very  great  advantages  were  sold  at  very  low  figures.  A  two  hun- 
dred dollar  scholarship  was  made  practically  perpetual.  It  secured 
the  tuition  of  one  scholar  at  a  time  in  the  literary  department. 
Five  hundred  dollars  procured  a  scholarship  admitting  the  pupil  to 
all  the  departments  of  the  proposed  university.     The  liberal  terms 


544  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.      [Period  vi. 

of  the  scholarships  and  the  inflated  condition  of  the  currency  made 
it  very  easy  to  sell  them.  Many  bought  them  under  the  impression 
that  they  were  making  a  good  investment.  The  agents  soon  suc- 
ceeded in  raising  in  notes  the  sum  agreed  upon.  Dr.  Freeman  did 
excellent  service  in  this  work  of  securing  endowment.  He  raised 
about  thirty  thousand  dollars  of  the  fifty  thousand.  The  Rev. 
James  Ritchey,  of  Indiana,  was  also  a  very  active  and  successful 
agent.  Richard  M.  Beard,  Esq.,  from  first  to  last,  was  perhaps  the 
most  successful  agent  in  the  field.  There  was  a  great  deal  of  en- 
thusiasm in  this  work,  and  it  was  done  in  a  very  short  time. 

In  the  meantime  the  people  of  Lincoln  began  work  on  the 
building.  In  the  year  1865  the  corner-stone  was  laid.  The  gov- 
ernor of  the  State,  Gen.  Richard  J.  Oglesby,  delivered  the  oration 
at  the  laying  of  the  corner-stone.  It  was  a  grand  day  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  church  in  the  North-west.  It  is  due  to  the  people  of 
Lincoln  to  say  that  they  did  far  better  than  they  agreed  to  do.  In- 
stead of  a  thirty  thousand  dollar  house,  such  as  they  had  agreed  to 
build,  they  laid  the  foundation  for  a  building,  which  when  com- 
pleted cost  about  sixty  thousand  dollars.  By  far  the  greater  part 
of  this  sum  was  given  by  the  people  of  the  town. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  the  currency  was  badly  inflated  at 
the  time  the  work  was  undertaken.  The  money  contributed  to  the 
endowment  was  not  worth  more  than  fifty  cents  on  the  dollar. 
Many  who  subscribed  in  flush  times  had  to  make  their  payments  in 
hard  times.  This  caused  a  great  falling  ofl"  in  the  collections. 
Many  who  had  pledged  contributions  failed  in  business,  and  many 
others  failed  to  pay.  The  trustees,  howe^'er,  did  not  stop  at  fifty 
thousand  dollars.  Agents  were  kept  in  the  field  nearly  all  the  time 
for  years.     They  more  than  made  good  the  losses. 

The  school  was  opened  iif  the  year  1866,  on  the  i6th  day  of 
November.  The  faculty  consisted  of  the  Rev.  A.  Freeman,  D.D., 
President;  the  Rev.  S.  Richards,  A.M.,  Professor  of  Ancient  Lan- 
guages; the  Rev.  A.  J.  McGlumphy,  A.M.,  Professor  of  INIathe- 
matics;  J.  B.  Latimer,  A.  B.,  Professor  of  Natural  Sciences;  ]\Irs. 
Mary  E.  Miller,  Matron,  and  Teacher  of  English  Literature.  The 
school  was  co-educational  from  the  first.  The  course  of  study  laid 
down  by  the  first  faculty  was  full  and  complete.     Young  ladies 


Chapter  XLV.]  LINCOLN   UNIVERSITY.  545 

were  admitted  to  all  the  classes  on  terms  exactly  the  same  as  those 
required  of  the  young  men. 

The  first  year  was  typical  in  the  history  of  the  institution. 
During  that  time  nearly  all  the  main  features  of  the  school  were 
outlined  by  its  able  and  scholarly  faculty,  and  particularly  by  its 
noble  president.  It  is  due  to  Dr.  Freeman  more  than  to  any  other 
man  that  the  policy  which  has  ever  since  guided  the  faculty  in  the 
management  of  the  school  was  developed.  The  organization  of 
classes,  the  formation  of  literary  societies,  the  foundation  of  the 
library,  the  rules  and  the  government  of  the  institution  were  all 
developed  by  that  most  devout  scholar  and  teacher  and  his  assist- 
ants. He  was  at  the  head  of  the  institution  four  years  and  during 
that  time  he  showed  a  zeal  and  devotion  to  the  school  which  has 
never  been  surpassed  by  any  man  in  the  church.  He  perhaps 
placed  too  many  restrictions  upon  students.  But  the  law  of  kind- 
ness was  on  his  tongue,  and  he  governed  by  love.  He  was  driven 
from  his  great  work  by  the  unwise  clamors  of  a  few  who  were  too 
zealous  of  orthodoxy.  He  held  views  not  unlike  those  held  by  the 
professors  of  Andover  Seminary  in  Massachusetts.  These  views  he 
never  sought  to  propagate.  As  a  teacher  of  youth  he  never  in- 
flicted his  theological  opinions  upon  any  one.  If  he  had  been  at 
the  head  of  a  theological  seminary  there  might  have  been  some 
excuse  for  the  war  that  was  made  upon  him.  After  serving  the 
institution  most  satisfactorily  for  four  years,  he  retired  without  a 
word  of  remonstrance,  and  pursued  a  course  worthy  of  all  admi- 
ration. 

He  was  succeeded  by  the  Rev.  J.  C.  Bowdon,  D.D.,  who  was 
pastor  of  the  church  at  Evansville,  Indiana.  Dr.  Bowdon  was  a 
man  of  great  vivacity,  most  genial  manners,  and  fine  intellectual 
powers.  He  ruled  by  a  method  entirely  different  from  that  em- 
ployed by  his  predecessor.  He  made  but  few  rules,  and  yet  he  was 
universally  loved  and  obeyed.  He  gave  the  institution  a  new  im- 
petus in  the  line  of  culture.  Dr.  Freeman  was  a  man  for  thorough 
scholarship;  Dr.  Bowdon  gave  more  thought  to  culture  and  social 
life.  He  made  the  faculty  and  the  school  the  center  of  the  social 
life  of  the  community.  He  inspired  young  men  with  an  ambition 
for  the  highest  social  as  well  as  literary  culture.  He  taught  more 
35 


546  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  vi. 

by  example  than  by  precept.  Never  was  there  a  more  genial  or 
more  companionable  man.  He  had  a  vast  fund  of  humor  and  wit 
ever  at  ready  command.  He  was  a  preacher  of  strong  powers,  and 
wherever  he  went  he  made  a  profound  impression  for  the  cause  he 
represented.  He  had  a  great  power  over  a  popular  audience.  It 
was  due  to  him  largely  that  the  school  gained  a  wide  popularity 
throughout  the  entire  church.  He  was  born  and  educated  at  the 
South,  and  he  had  hosts  of  friends  and  admirers  in  everj^  part  of  the 
denomination.  His  brief  career  ended  before  he  had  time  to  de- 
velop his  purposes.  He  died  while  in  office  in  the  year  1873  among 
his  old  friends  in  Mississippi,  and^  there  he  was  buried.  He  was 
loved  as  few  men  are  ever  loved. 

The  Rev.  A.  J.  McGlumphy,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  was  elected  to  fill 
the  vacancy  caused  by  the  death  of  Dr.  Bowdon.  He  entered  upon 
the  duties  of  his  office  in  the  year  1873,  and  continued  in  that  posi- 
tion until  June,  1887.  President  McGlumphy  was  a  good  executive 
and  an  admirable  teacher.  During  his  administration  an  effort  was 
made  to  start  a  law  school  and  also  a  theological  department.  The 
Hon.  R.  C.  Ewing,  of  Missouri,  a  son  of  Finis  Ewing,  was  elected 
Professor  of  Law.  He  organized  classes  and  had  a  number  of 
pupils.  About  fourteen  young  men  entered  the  school  and  studied 
through  one  year.  The  tuition  was  necessarily  small  and  the 
attendance  was  not  large.  The  want  of  funds  compelled  the 
trustees  to  suspend  this  school.  About  the  same  time  the  depart- 
ment of  theology  was  opened,  with  the  Rev.  S.  Richards,  D.D.,  as 
Professor  of  Systematic  Theology.  There  were  but  three  or  four 
pupils,  and  no  money  to  support  the  teacher,  and  the  undertaking 
had  to  be  abandoned. 

During  this  time  the  currency  of  the  countr}'  had  resumed  a 
more  healthy  condition.  Interest  on  money  began  to  go  down. 
No  tuition  was  paid  by  students.  The  cheap  scholarships  that 
were  sold  to  secure  endowment  were  at  the  command  of  all  who 
wished  to  use  them.  They  drove  tuition  out,  and  it  was  impossible 
to  increase  the  number  of  the  faculty  at  a  time  when  the  number 
of  the  students  was  nearly  double  what  it  ought  to  have  been. 
Nearly  all  the  schools  in  the  country'  where  the  patronage  of  the 
university  came  from  had  enlarged  their  faculties,  and  had  put  into 


Chapter  XLV.]  LINCOLN   UNIVERSITY. 


547 


their  courses  of  study  new  departments.  The  competing  schools 
had  the  advantage  in  wealth,  and  the  people  soon  began  to  take 
advantage  of  the  better  opportunities  that  were  offered  them  else- 
where. The  trustees  had  no  money  to  employ  additional  teachers, 
and  none  to  procure  libraries,  apparatus,  and  museums.  The  result 
was  a  great  falling  off  in  attendance.  Efforts  were  made  time  and 
again  to  increase  the  endowment.  Most  of  the  patrons  had  schol- 
arships, and  they  did  not  see  the  necessity  for  more  money.  After 
years  of  struggle  against  odds  and  difficulties,  President  McGlum- 
phy  resigned. 

The  work  of  this  institution,  however,  has  by  no  means  been  a 
failure.  It  has  more  money  now  than  any  school  in  the  church. 
There  are  nearly  one  hundred  thousand  dollars  secured  to  the 
university,  most  of  which  is  productive.  There  are  many  friends 
of  the  institution  who  are  determined  to  stand  by  it.  It  has  grad- 
uated some  of  the  best  scholars  in  the  church.  Its  graduates  take 
high  rank  in  the  ministry  of  the  denomination.  Several  of  them 
have  been  graduated  in  theology  at  Lebanon,  Tennessee,  Union 
Theological  Seminary,  New  York,  and  elsewhere.  A  number  of 
the  graduates  are  prominent  teachers  in  some  of  the  best  schools 
of  the  country.  Hundreds  of  former  students  of  this  institution 
are  useful  members  of  the  church.  Two  of  them  are  missionaries 
in  foreign  lands,  and  two  others  have  been  accepted  by  the  Board 
of  Missions  for  the  work  in  Japan,  and  are  now  preparing  for  their 
departure  to  that  country. 

The  institution  has  always  maintained  a  high  standard  of  schol- 
arship. No  school  in  the  church  has  more  conscientiously  adhered 
to  the  course  of  study  laid  down  in  its  catalogue.  No  student 
can  graduate  who  does  not  maintain  a  high  grade  of  scholarship 
throughout  the  entire  course. 

Among  the  members  of  the  faculty  who  have  done  valuable 
service  in  the  institution  should  be  mentioned  Professor  A.  R. 
Taylor,  A.M.,  Ph.D.,  who  is  now  principal  of  the  State  Normal 
School  of  Kansas.  For  ten  years  he  filled  the  chair  of  natural 
sciences  with  great  ability.  His  enthusiasm  in  the  class-room,  his 
devotion  to  his  pupils,  and  his  accurate  learning  made  him  one  of 
the  most  useful  men  in  the  church.     As  a  disciplinarian  and  a 


548  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  vi. 

Christian  educator  he  has  had  but  few  equals  in  the  denomination. 
Under  his  instruction  the  natural  science  department  became  very- 
popular,  and  his  classes  were  always  filled  with  the  most  eager  and 
enthusiastic  pupils.  In  1882  he  resigned  to  take  charge  of  the 
important  institution  of  which  he  is  the  successful  president. 

Another  successful  teacher  in  the  university  was  Professor 
William  Mariner,  who  for  many  years  was  a  shining  light  in  Cum- 
berland University.  He  occupied  the  chair  of  Latin  four  years. 
His  exact  and  painstaking  scholarship  and  his  rigid  adherence  to 
college  methods  did  much  to  elevate  the  scholarship  of  this  young 
and  promising  institution  of  the  church.  It  was  only  the  want  of 
funds  that  compelled  the  board  of  trustees  to  accept  his  resignation. 
He  was  a  man  of  great  and  varied  general  information,  and  he  in- 
spired young  men  and  women  to  study  that  they  might  reach  the 
high  standard  of  learning  to  which  their  preceptor  had  attained. 
Since  his  resignation  he  has  lived  in  Washington  Territor}-,  but  in 
whatever  sphere  he  lives  and  labors  he  carries  with  him  the  true 
scholarly  spirit,  and  surrounds  himself  with  an  influence  which 
brings  him  honor  and  respect.  The  Rev.  B.  F.  McCord,  A.M., 
Ph.D.,  filled  the  chair  of  Mathematics  for  fourteen  years.  He  is  a 
man  of  fine  ability,  correct  literary  taste,  and  excellent  scholarship. 
He  was  graduated  at  the  State  University  of  Indiana,  where  he 
ranked  at  the  head  of  the  large  class  of  which  he  was  a  member. 
In  the  school-room  he  was  master  of  his  subject.  He  taught  with 
great  enthusiasm  and  inspired  his  pupils  with  a  love  of  study.  In 
the  summer  of  1887  failing  health  caused  him  to  seek  relief  from 
the  work  of  the  class-room  in  the  less  wearing  duties  of  a  business 
life. 

Among  the  trustees  there  are  several  men  whose  self-sacrificing 
devotion  to  the  institution  deserves  special  mention.  While  the 
trustees  have  made  mistakes,  it  will  readily  be  granted  by  all  who 
know  the  history  of  the  school  that  they  have  been  guided  by  the 
most  unselfish  motives  in  all  their  transactions.  For  nearly  twenty 
years  Col.  Robert  B.  Latham  was  a  member  of  the  board — during 
the  greater  part  of  the  time  its  president.  He  was  always  ready 
to  make  any  sacrifice  in  his  power  to  promote  the  good  of  the  uni- 
versity.    Being  the  best  known  citizen  of  the  town  and  the  county 


Chapter  XLV.]  LINCOLN   UNIVERSITY.  549 

in  which  he  lived,  and  still  lives,  he  gave  the  school  a  good  name 
throughout  the  State.  His  interest  in  the  town  and  the  community 
was  alwa}-s  great,  and  every  enterprise  calculated  to  promote  the 
welfare  of  his  fellow-citizens  secured  his  zealous  support.  He  has 
always  been  a  firm  friend  of  the  cause  of  education,  and  has  given 
much  wise  counsel  and  }ears  of  earnest  service  to  Lincoln  Uni- 
versity. He  gave  liberally  of  his  means  to  secure  the  location  of 
the  school,  and  was  ever  ready  to  lead  in  any  thing  calculated  to 
help  the  university.  For  j'ears  his  beautiful  and  spacious  house 
was  thrown  open  with  the  most  generous  hospitality  on  Commence- 
ment occasions  to  receive  the  students,  the  faculty,  and  their  friends. 
Not  being  a  member  of  the  Cumberland  Presb}'terian  church,  he 
deserves  this  honorable  mention  as  a  friend  and  generous  benefactor 
to  one  of  its  most  important  enterprises. 

The  Hon.  William  B.  Jones,  for  many  years  treasurer  of  the 
board  of  trustees,  deserves  respectful  mention  for  the  great  interest 
which  he  has  ever  showed  in  the  prosperity  of  the  school.  He 
labored  hard  for  years  to  keep  the  finances  in  good  condition. 
Much  of  his  time  was  generously  devoted  to  the  interest  of  the 
college.  He  has  frequently  written  for  the  church  papers  in  be- 
half of  the  institution.  Mr.  George  W.  Edgar,  an  elder  in  the 
Lincoln  congregation,  has  been  a  member  of  the  board  of  trustees 
since  the  school  was  first  organized.  He  has  given  freely  of  his 
money  in  the  support  of  the  college,  and  has  been  very  liberal  with 
his  time  in  looking  after  the  building  and  grounds.  His  home  has 
always  been  open  to  the  friends  and  patrons  of  Lincoln  University. 
There  are  many  other  persons  whose  labors  have  contributed  to  the 
prosperity  of  the  institution.  It  would  require  more  space  than 
can  be  given  to  the  subject  to  record  the  deeds  of  all  who  are  wor- 
thy of  special  mention.  Such  men  as  Samuel  C.  Parks,  James  A. 
Hudson,  A.  C.  Boyd,  the  Rev.  W.  C.  Bell,  and  the  Rev.  F.  Bridg- 
man  have  ser\^ed  as  trustees  with  great  fidelity  and  usefulness. 

Among  the  endowmg  agents  who  have  from  first  to  last  been 
engaged  in  working  for  the  college  must  be  mentioned  the  Rev.  J. 
A.  Chase,  the  Rev.  Jesse  S.  Grider,  and  the  Rev.  J.  C.  Van  Patten. 
They  all  did  good  work  at  various  times.  The  Rev.  J.  S.  Grider 
acted  as  agent  but  one  year,  but  during  that  time  he  did  a  very 


550  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  vi. 

valuable  work.  He  secured  in  notes  and  bequests  about  thirty-five 
thousand  dollars.  One  bequest  of  ten  thousand  dollars  obtained 
by  him  has  already  been  realized.  It  was  made  by  Mr.  Alfred 
Br}'an,  of  Logan  county,  Illinois,  who  was  for  many  years  an  active 
elder  in  the  congregation  known  as  Sugar  Creek. 

Lincoln  University  has  been  in  existence  but  little  over  twenty 
years,  but  it  may  be  safely  said  that  no  school  in  the  church  has 
done  a  better  work  in  that  time.  It  has  graduated  in  the  literary 
department  alone  just  i86  pupils.  These  men  and  women  are  for 
the  most  part  members  in  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  church, 
and  in  the  General  Assembly  and  our  missionary  boards,  and  in 
all  the  councils  of  the  church,  their  influence  is  felt  and  acknowl- 
edged. 

The  foregoing  sketch  of  Lincoln  University  is  furnished  for  this 
volume  by  the  Rev.  D.  M.  Harris,  D.D.,  Ph.D.,  who  became  Pro- 
fessor of  Natural  Science  in  that  institution  in  the  fall  of  1868.  He 
served  in  that  position  two  years.  In  the  fall  of  1871  he  was  elected 
to  the  chair  of  Greek  and  Latin.  He  filled  this  important  position 
with  great  ability  until  1883.  He  did  much  to  build  up  the  inter- 
ests of  the  institution  and  to  promote  thorough  classical  scholar- 
ship among  the  students.  After  nearly  fifteen  }'ears  of  faithful  and 
valuable  service  as  a  member  of  the  faculty,  he  resigned  and  ac- 
cepted his  present  position  as  editor  of  the  Cumberland  Presbyte- 
rian at  Nashville,  Tennessee.  >f 

In  June,  1887,  President  McGlumphy  and  the  entire  faculty 
of  this  institution  resigned.  Subsequently  A.  E.  Turner,  A.M., 
Professor  of  Natural  Sciences,  was  re-elected,  and  he  has  resumed 
the  duties  of  that  chair.  Theodore  F.  Brantley  was  also  re-elected 
to  the  chair  of  Greek  and  Latin,  but  did  not  accept  it.  Albert 
McGinnis,  A.M.,  was  elected  Professor  of  Belles-Lettres,  and  vice- 
president,  and  he  is  at  this  time  (October,  1887,)  acting  president. 
Albeit  T.  Davis,  A.B.,  of  Hyde  Park,  Mass.,  was  chosen  Professor 
of  Greek  and  Latin,  I.  W.  P.  Buchanan,  A.B.,  Professor  of  Mathe- 
matics. 

The  full  list  of  teachers  in  the  Literan,'  and  Scientific  depart- 
ment from  the  organization  of  this  institution  to  the  present  time 
is  as  follows: 


Chapter  XLV.]  TrIXITY  UNIVERSITY.  551 

Presidents  and  Professors  0/  Menial  and  Moral  Philosophy. — 
Rev.  A.  Freeman,  D.D.,  Rev.  J.  C.  Bowdon,  D.D.,  Rev.  A.  J. 
McGlumphy,  D.D.,  LL.D. 

Professors  of  Mathematics.  —  Rev.  A.  J.  McGlumphy,  A.  ]\I. , 
Rev.  B.  F.  McCord,  A.M.,  Ph.D.,  I.  W.  R  Buchanan,  A.B. 

Professors  of  Ancient  Languages. — Rev.  S.  Richards,  D.D,, 
Rev.  D.  M.  Harris,  D.D.,  Ph.D.,  William  Mariner,  A.M.,  Theodore 
Brantley,  A.M.,  and  Albert  T.  Davis,  A.B. 

Professors  of  Natural  Sciences. — J.  F.  Latimer,  A.I\I.,  Rev.  D. 
M.  Harris,  A.M.,  A.  Pv.  Taylor,  Ph.B.,  O.  A.  Reach,  Pli.B.,  Rev. 
W.  J.  McDavid,  A.M.,  Charles  R.  Krone,  A.M.,  and  A.  E.  Tur- 
ner, A.M. 

Professor  of  Belles-Lettres. — Albert  McGinnis,  A.M. 

Professors  of  Elocution.—^.  S.  Hamil,  A.M.,  Mrs.  E.  W.  Felt, 
Rev.  L.  P.  Marshall,  A.B. 

Matrons.,  and  Teachers  of  E7iglish  Literatiire. — Mrs.  M.  E. 
Miller,  Miss  Minerva  Lindse}^,  ]\Irs.  C.  E.  W.  Miller,  and  Miss  S. 
J.  McCord. 

Tutors.—].  R.  Starkey,  A.M.,  A.  H.  Mills,  A.  M.,  A.  E.  Tur- 
ner, A.M.,  and  M.  A.  Montgomery,  A.M. 

There  are  four  literary  societies  connected  with  the  university — 
the  Neatrophean,  the  Amicitian,  the  Amasagacian,  and  Athenian. 
The  first  two  are  for  ladies,  and  the  others  for  gentlemen. 

The  property  and  assets  of  the  university  consist  of : 

A  campus  and  buildings  worth $  60,000 

Furniture,  library,  and  fixtures 5,000 

Endowment  fund  invested  and  otherwise  available     60,000 
Endowment,  good,  but  not  yet  available    ....       40,000 

Total  property  and  assets $165,000 

TRINITY    UNIVERSITY. 

The  history  of  Trinity  University  furnishes  one  of  the  finest 
illustrations  of  magnanimous  compromise  for  the  sake  of  concen- 
tration that  our  church  ever  had.  When  this  institution  was 
founded,  there  were  under  the  control  of  our  people  three  small 
colleges  in  different  parts  of  Texas,  and  these  all  agreed  to  com- 
bine their  resources  into  one  institution,  and  leave  the  selection  of 


552  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  vi. 

the  location  to  the  three  synods  which  the  church  then  had  in  that 
State.  The  sketch  here  given  of  the  consolidated  institution  is 
partly  from  the  ]3en  of  Dr.  E.  B.  Crisman.     He  says: 

In  1866  the  Texas,  Brazos,  and  Colorado  Synods  of  the  Cumberland 
Presbyterian  church,  feeling  the  necessity  of  an  institution  of  learning 
of  high  order  within  their  bounds,  by  concert  of  action,  appointed  each 
a  committee  to  consider  jointly  the  propriety  of  establishing  such  an 
institution  at  that  time.  The  committee  so  appointed  met  for  consulta- 
tion at  Dallas  in  December,  1S67;  and,  coming  to  the  conclusion  that  the 
immediate  establishment  of  such  an  institution  was  not  only  proper  but 
entirely  practicable,  concurred  in  a  report  to  their  respective  synods 
recommending  its  early  location,  and  advising  that  the  claims  of  no 
point  to  the  location  should  be  considered  unless  the  sum  of  twenty-five 
thousand  dollars  had  first  been  raised  as  a  bonus. 

Upon  the  reception  of  this  report  the  synods,  respectively,  appointed 
another  committee  of  four  each,  to  act  jointly  in  selecting  a  location  for 
the  contemplated  institution,  with  instructions  that  after  making  the 
location,  they  should  take  the  steps  necessary  to  put  the  school  into 
active  operation.  Four  points — Dallas,  Waxahachie,  Round  Rock,  and 
Tehuacana — raised  the  prescribed  bonus,  and  solicited  the  location. 

The  commissioners  then  visited  each  of  these  places,  and  after 
several  meetings  and  conferences  they  unanimously  selected  Te- 
huacana hills  as  the  location  offering  the  best  advantages.  Colonel 
Boyd,  who  lived  at  this  place,  had  offered  to  give  fifteen  hundred 
acres  of  land,  besides  other  property,  including  buildings  which 
would  answer  for  temporary  use.  There  was  then  no  town  at 
Tehuacana.  The  place  is  six  miles  from  the  railroad,  but  is  in 
some  respects  all  the  better  for  that.  What  disadv^antages  belong 
to  such  a  location  could  all  be  overcome  by  an  ample  endowment. 
Health,  morality,  and  freedom  from  temptations  ought  to  weigh 
more  than  all  the  advantages  afforded  by  a  large  city. 

The  Rev.  W.  E.  Beeson,  D.D.,  was  the  first  president  of  Trin- 
ity University,  and  its  first  session  was  begun  September,  1869.  It 
was  from  the  beginning  open  to  both  sexes. 

Wild  lands  and  lands  at  Tehuacana  were  subscribed  for  the  en- 
dowment of  this  school,  and  estimated  then  at  figures  far  beyond 
what  was  fotmd  afterward  to  be  their  value.  The  figures  at  which 
this  endowment  was  at  first  counted  were  eighty  thousand  dollars. 


Chapter  XLV.]  TrINITY   UNIVERSITY.  553 

Three  buildings  liave  succeeded  each  other  in  serving  the  purposes 
of  this  institution.  The  first  was  a  large  frame  building,  donated 
by  Colonel  Boyd.  The  second  was  a  much  larger  stone  building, 
but  utterly  destitute  of  any  architectural  pretensions.  The  third, 
now  about  finished,  is  an  enlargement  of  the  second  by  an  ap- 
proved architect.     It  is  said  to  be  a  fine  structure. 

In  the  first  catalogue  (1869-1870)  were  enrolled  the  names  of 
one  hundred  students.  The  patronage  afterward  grew  to  four  hun- 
dred and  twenty.  Then  dissensions  entered  the  field  .where  that 
happy  spirit  of  concentration  had  reigned,  and  the  patronage  began 
to  decline.  It  is  now,  however,  increasing  once  more,  and  the  en- 
dowing agent  is  pushing  his  work.  The  endowment  is  now  re- 
ported at  fifty-three  thousand  dollars.  Much  of  it  is  unproductive 
at  present,  being  invested  in  wild  lands.  As  these  lands  are  not 
taxed,  they  should  by  all  means  be  held  till  the  country  fills  up, 
when  they  will  become  very  valuable. 

Dr.  Beeson  resigned  in  1S77,  and,  after  an  interregnum,  the 
Rev.  B.  G.  McLeskey,  D.D.,  was  chosen  as  his  successor.  In  1885 
Dr.  McLeskey  died.  Iv.  A.  Johnson,  one  of  the  professors,  was 
called  temporarily  to  discharge  the  duties  of  president,  and  in  the 
summer  of  1887  he  was  elected  permanently  to  that  ofiice.  The 
number  of  teachers  in  this  institution  is  generally  sixteen. 

One  of  our  college  presidents  from  another  State  some  years 
ago  visited  Trinity  University,  and  published  the  following  state- 
ments : 

There  are  several  considerations  which  add  to  the  importance  of 
that  enterprise.  First  among  these  is  the  character  of  the  young  people 
at  Trinity  University.  Though  I  have  been  accustomed  all  my  life  to 
meeting  college  students,  I  never  met  an  assembly  of  young  people 
who  showed  more  promise  of  usefulness  than  those  I  saw  at  Tehuacana. 
For  the  sake  of  these  dear  young  people  we  should  endow  and  sustain 
this  college.  Another  fact  which  presses  upon  me  is  the  vast  future  of 
Texas.  No  other  State  in  America  is  no\v  growing  as  fast.  No  other 
has  such  resources  for  maintaining  a  vast  immigration.  Nine  hundred 
immigrants  a  day,  all  the  year  round,  pour  into  these  vast  vacuums,  and 
yet  the  limitless  wastes  of  rich  prairies  scarcely  feel  the  difference. 
What  a  future  this  State  is  to  have!  Now,  God  in  his  goodness  ena- 
bled our  church  to  beg-in  here  with  the  besfinningf.     There  was  Cum- 


554  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  vi. 

berlancl  Presbyterian  blood  shed  at  the  Alamo.  Our  pioneer  preachers 
were  out  on  those  vast  plains  as  soon  as  Houston  or  Crockett  were; 
our  history  mingles  with  the  records  of  the  State's  early  struggles.  We 
have  a  chance  to  grow  with  the  State's  growth,  and  when  the  popula- 
tion of  Texas  swells  to  ten  millions,  as  it  soon  will,  the  Cumberland 
Presbyterian  church  ought  to  be  planted  strong  and  sure  as  one  of  the 
mighty  powers  of  Christ's  kingdom  in  that  empire.  We  are  strong 
enough  there  now  to  endow  a  college  amply.  Will  we  be  true  to  our 
opportunities  and  our  duties  ? 

The  present  endowment  agent  of  Trinity  University,  Dr.  E.  B. 
Crisman,  is  a  man  of  great  energy,  an  alumnus  of  Cumberland 
University,  who  knows  the  value  of  real  scholarship.  If  Texans 
will  second  his  earnest  efforts,  he  will  soon  place  the  endowment 
upon  a  footing  which  will  itself  attract  liberal  donations  in  all 
future  time. 

An  editorial  in  one  of  our  church  papers,  in  1885,  makes  the 
following  statements  about  Trinity  University: 

This  institution  stai'ted  out  with  the  full  and  hearty  co-operation  of 
the  entire  churcli  in  the  State.  It  has  for  a  number  of  years  been  re- 
garded by  many,  both  in  the  church  and  out  of  it,  as  one  of  the  leading 
institutions  in  the  State.  It  has  matriculated  as  many  as  four  hundred 
and  twenty-five  students  a  year.  It  has  given  instruction  to  not  less 
than  eighty  young  ministers,  twenty-one  of  whom  received  diplomas. 
In  its  various  departments  some  two  thousand  students  from  all  parts 
of  Texas,  and  some  from  other  States,  have  received  instruction.  .  .  . 
Qiiite  a  number  of  its  graduates  now  occupy  prominent  positions  of 
trust  and  honor.  Some  of  the  leading  young  ministers  of  the  church 
in  Texas  are  from  the  ranks  of  its  students.  The  fruits  of  its  work  are 
to  be  seen  in  the  increased  enterprise  and  vigor  of  the  church,  and  in 
the  advanced  stand  it  is  taking  among  other  denominations  in  the  State. 

This  institution  has  taken  the  halter  of  cheap  scholarships  in 
its  very  worst  form.  There  is  but  one  redeeming  feature  in  the 
Trinity  scholarships,  and  that  is  that  there  are  not  very  many  of 
them.     The  fewer  the  better. 


Chapter  XLVI.]       OTHER  SCHOOLS  AND   COLLEGES.  555 


CHAPTER   XLVI. 


OTHER   SCHOOLS   AND   COLLEGES. 

Whoever  would  effectually  serve  the  interests  of  religion  must  befriend  the 
cause  of  education. — S.  G.  Burney,  D.D. 

THE  four  leading  institutions  of  learning  whose  history  is 
sketched  in  the  last  two  chapters  are  not  the  only  schools 
that  have  grown  up  under  the  patronage  of  the  Cumberland  Pres- 
byterian church.  Though  this  church  had  its  origin  amono-  the 
pioneer  settlers  of  Kentucky  and  Tennessee,  far  from  literary 
and  commercial  centers;  though  its  first  members  were  hardy  and 
simple-hearted  backwoodsmen,  who  gave  more  attention  to  the 
felling  of  forest  trees  and  the  opening  of  farms  in  the  wilderness 
than  to  books;  though  the  scholastic  training  of  many  of  its  first 
preachers  did  not  meet  the  requirements  of  the  rigid  Presbyterian 
rule;  yet  its  ministers  and  people  have  ever  been  the  friends  and 
promoters  of  liberal  education. 

We  have  seen  how  efforts  to  establish  schools  were  joined  to 
the  evangelistic  and  pastoral  labors  of  our  first  missionaries  in 
Pennsylvania  and  Ohio.  The  same  thing  was  true  wherever  Cum- 
berland Presbyterian  congregations  grew  up.  In  Indiana  and  Illi- 
nois, in  Missouri  and  Arkansas,  as  well  as  in  Kentucky,  Tennessee, 
and  Texas,  our  people  were  pioneers  in  the  work  of  establishing 
schools.  Cherry  Grove  Seminary,  near  Abingdon,  Knox  County, 
Illinois,  a  Cumberland  Presbyterian  institution,  opened  its  doors  to 
students  in  1842,  but  a  little  while  after  the  Congregationalists 
from  New  England  laid  the  foundations  of  Knox  College  in  the 
same  county.  Spring  River  Academy  was  doubtless  the  first  high 
school  ever  opened  in  south-western  Missouri.  It  was  founded  by 
Ozark  Presbytery,  and  went  into  operation  under  the  superintend- 
ence of  the  Rev.  J.  B.  Logan,  in  November,  1844.  Delany  Acad- 
emy flourished  at  Newburgh,  in  southern  Indiana,  before  any  other 


556  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  vi. 

school  of  similar  grade  had  been  established  in  that  part  of  the 
State.  Such  pioneer  institutions  sprang  up  wherever  our  people 
gained  a  foothold. 

It  is  true  that  many  of  these  pioneer  schools  had  but  an  ephem- 
eral career.  The  methods  and  policy  adopted  were  not  always  the 
wisest.  Many  of  our  people  did  not  have  a  very  correct  under- 
standing of  what  was  needed  in  the  founding  of  an  institution  of 
learning.  But  the  history  of  these  efforts  shows  that  the  first  Cum- 
berland Presbyterians  did  not  lack  the  spirit  of  education.  The 
report  prepared  in  1855  by  the  Rev.  S.  G.  Burney,  chairman  of  the 
Committee  on  Education,  and  adopted  b}'  the  General  Assembl)-, 
declares  that: 

The  founders  and  early  friends  of  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian 
church  were  disinherited  of  their  church  patrimony,  and  deprived  of 
the  benefits  of  those  literary  institutions  which  they  and  their  ancestry, 
by  their  money  and  prayers,  had  contributed  to  establish.  These  tem- 
ples of  knowledge  were  closed  against  them,  and  against  their  sons  and 
successors  in  the  ministry.  It  is  not,  tlierefore,  strange  that  they  were 
not  profoundly  learned  in  this  world's  wisdom.  The  wonder  is,  rather, 
that  they  were  learned  at  all.  What  is  now  considered  a  demonstra- 
tion of  an  increased  educational  interest,  or  "  waking  up,"  is  only  the 
development  of  a  spirit  which  has  always  existed.  .  .  .  The  fact  is,  and 
probably  will  not  be  questioned  by  any  who  have  inquired  into  the 
subject,  that  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  church  has  not  only  taken 
the  initiative,  but  has  actually  accomplished  more  for  the  cause  of  edu- 
cation in  the  great  valley  of  the  West  than  any  other  association  what- 
ever, in  proportion  to  numbers  and  resources. 

We  have  had  schools  which  flourished  for  a  while  under  the 
name  of  colleges,  but  which  never  had  any  endown:ent,  and  have 
long  ago  ceased  to  exist.  Some  of  these  were  supplied  with  such 
meager  facilities  as  to  make  their  pretentious  titles  most  inappro- 
priate. But  while  we  should  protest  against  calling  every  little 
school  a  college,  we  are  not  to  forget  that  even  one  or  two  earnest 
teachers  in  a  log-cabin  may  do  a  valuable  work.  Ever}'  one  of 
these  schools,  however  meager  its  resources  or  brief  its  career, 
doubtless  wrought  out  some  good  results.  The  report  on  educa- 
tion adopted  by  the  General  Assembly  of  1S71,  and  signed  by  Dr. 
Richard  Beard,  chairman  of  the  committee,  contains  these  words: 


Chapter  XLVI.]        OTHER   SCHOOLS   AND   COLLEGES.  557 

This  church  commenced,  in  its  ecclesiastical  capacity,  the  work  of 
education  in  1826.  It  has  had  reverses  and  disappointments;  still  much 
has  been  done.  .  .  .  The  great  want  with  us  in  this  work  has  been  to 
give  a  practical  direction  to  our  eflbrts.  We  have  not  had  the  experi- 
ence of  ages  to  guide  us.  We  have  not  had  foundations  laid  by  prede- 
cessors upon  which  we  could  build.  We  have  had  to  work  out  our 
own  experience;  we  have  been  compelled  to  lay  our  own  foundations. 
The  wonder  is  that  we  have  succeeded  so  well. 

If  the  church  could  grasp  the  true  theory  of  graded  scliools  and 
thorough  preparatory  academies,  and  would  build  them  wherever 
needed,  and  refrain  from  assuming  for  them  the  titles  and  preroga- 
tives of  colleges,  and  make  each  grade  tributary  to  the  next  higher, 
all  parts  of  the  church  would  reap  immense  advantages  from  such 
a  policy.  But  if  every  little  town  starts  its  academy,  and  every 
academy  tries  to  teach  college  classes,  then  we  shall  never  have 
either  college  or  university.  Neither  shall  we  ever  have  any  acad- 
emies of  high  reputation.  Show  me  the  academy  with  mixed 
studies  that  can  stand  beside  the  Phillips  Academy,  or  the  Bing- 
ham, or  the  Philadelphia  Pligh-school. 

The  Minutes  of  the  General  Assembly  show  not  only  that  our 
people  have  always  been  enlisted  with  great  earnestness  in  the 
work  of  education,  but  also  that,  more  than  forty  years  ago,  the 
importance  of  concentrating  the  efforts  of  the  church  on  a  few 
leading  institutions,  and  of  building  up  a  graded  system  of  prepar- 
atory schools,  was  recognized  and  insisted  on  by  our  most  thought- 
ful men.  Robert  Donnell  was  chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Edu- 
cation in  1845.  '^^^^  report  which  he  presented  to  the  General 
Assembly,  and  which  was  adopted,  declares  that  it  would  "greatly 
enhance  the  prosperity  of  the  higher  institutions  .  .  .  under  the 
auspices  of  the  denomination  to  encourage  inferior  schools  through- 
out the  bounds  of  the  church;"  and  recommends  "to  the  presby- 
teries, ministers,  and  all  members  of  the  church,"  a  school  system 
which  was  to  embrace:  "First,  schools  in  the  bounds  of  every  con- 
gregation; second,  a  presbyterial  school  in  the  bounds  of  every 
presbytery.  These,"  continues  the  report,  "crowned  by  the  uni- 
versity at  Lebanon,  and  the  colleges  at  Princeton,  Beverly,  and 
Uniontown,  would  constitute  a  system  of  education  worthy  of  the 


558  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  vi. 

best  efforts  of  the  church."  In  the  establishment  of  congrega- 
tional schools  our  people  were  advised  to  co-operate  with  other 
Christians.  It  was  recommended  that  "every  congregation  and 
every  session  should  struggle  to  keep  up  a  school  in  its  bounds  at 
all  events;  should  strive  to  arouse  others  to  co-operate,  but  main- 
tain a  school  under  any  circumstances."  It  was  suggested,  also, 
that  the  presbyterial  schools  might  in  this  way  set  up  an  advanced 
standard  of  education,  "thus,  better  than  by  any  other  method, 
qualifying  the  students  to  enter  the  university  and  colleges." 

The  necessity  of  adopting  this  graded  system  of  schools  was  for 
several  years  urged  by  the  successive  General  Assemblies.  From 
the  Minutes  we  learn  that,  in  1846,  "numerous  congregational, 
presbyterial,  and  synodical  schools"  had  been  planted  and  were 
enjoying  a  high  degree  of  prosperity. 

In  1847  t^^  most  gratifying  progress  of  the  educational  work 
under  the  auspices  of  the  church  was  reported.  In  1848  the  report 
of  the  Committee  on  Education,  of  which  Dr.  F.  R.  Cossitt  was 
chairman,  contained  these  words: 

We  are  gratified  to  find  the  cause  of  education  winning  the  favor 
and  enlisting  the  efforts  of  your  people  almost  throughout  your  bounds. 
Various  and  valuable  improvements  have  been  made  in  the  institutions 
heretofore  existing,  and  several  new  seminaries  have  been  put  in  oper- 
ation, and  there  is  cheering  evidence  to  believe  that  the  time  is  not  dis- 
tant when  the  recommendation  of  a  former  General  Assembly  will  be 
carried  out,  and  every  congregation  will  sustain  its  school,  and  every 
presbytery  and  synod  its  seminary.  These  preparatoy  schools,  acting  in 
their  vocation  of  fitting  students  for  college  and  university,  will  become 
so  many  tributary  streams  supplying  the  fountains.  There  can  be  but 
little  doubt  that  the  system  of  education  heretofore  so  wisely  recom- 
mended, and  now  being  in  many  parts  efficiently  conducted,  will  greatly 
advance  the  interests  of  the  church. 

In  1849  t^^^  recommendation  favoring  congregational  and  pres- 
byterial preparatory  schools  was  approved  and  renewed  by  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly.  The  report,  which  was  presented  by  Milton  Bird, 
chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Education,  says: 

We  must  be  faithful  to  this  cause.  ...  Its  importance  is  such  as 
requires  us  to  be  more  determined,  vigoi'ous,  and  consecrated  in  our 
efforts  than  ever,  in  order  that  it  may  be  increasingly  advanced  by  the 


Chapter  XLVI.]        OTHER   SCHOOLS   AND   COLLEGES.  559 

upbuikling  of  our  seminaries,  the  enlarged  endowment  of  our  colleges, 
and  the  constant  augmentation  of  the  number  of  our  students. 

But  in  spite  of  the  wise  recommendations  of  the  General  As- 
sembly, new  colleges,  as  well  as  new  academies  and  high  schools, 
soon  began  to  announce  themselves.  In  1851  the  names  of  three 
colleges  not  mentioned  before  appear  in  the  General  Assembly's 
Minutes;  in  1853,  three  others,  one  of  them  a  college  for  young 
ladies,  were  added  to  the  list;  in  1854,  two  others,  one  for  ^'oung 
ladies  exclusively;  in  1855,  two  more  colleges  were  announced;  in 
1856,  one  more;  in  1858,  one;  in  1859,  three;  and  in  i860,  two. 
As  early  as  1851  the  General  Assembly  began  to  protest  against 
this  tendency  to  multiply  schools  with  collegiate  pretensions.  The 
report  adopted  that  year  says: 

We  suggest  the  necessity  of  much  prudence  and  caution,  lest  in  the 
eagerness  to  build  up  colleges  the  church  squander  its  means,  paralyze 
ils  energies,  and  ultimately  fail  of  raising  its  institutions  to  the  high 
standard  desired.  To  build  a  college  worthy  of  the  name  is  the  result 
of  years  of  patient  endurance  and  unremitting  energy,  requiring  the 
concenti'ation  of  means  and  of  effort.  ...  If  such  an  enterprise,  when 
fairly  undertaken,  fails  to  succeed,  such  failure,  besides  proving  disas- 
trous to  those  immediately  concerned,  involves  the  reputation  of  the 
church  under  whose  auspices  it  was  commenced. 

In  1855  the  General  Assembly  declared  that  "one  college  in 
each  State,  judiciously  located  and  well  endowed,  with  primary 
and  preparatory  schools  so  placed  as  to  meet  the  local  interests  of 
the  church,"  was  fully  commensurate  with,  the  needs  of  the  de- 
nomination. In  1856  the  report  of  the  Committee  on  Education, 
adopted  by  the  General  Assembly,  after  commending  the  "zeal 
shown  in  the  upbuilding  of  institutions  of  learning,"  adds  these 
words: 

Yet  your  committee  would  respectfully  suggest  that  you  commend 
again  .  .  .  sound  discretion,  lest  by  the  multiplication  of  the  places  of 
learning  the  force  of  a  general  educational  effort  be  distracted,  and  insti- 
tutions already  established  be  left  to  be  impoverished  and  paralyzed,  to 
pine  and  perish.  Reason  and  sound  policy  seem  most  clearly  to  indi- 
cate that  it  would  be  the  better  plan  to  cluster  around  our  older  seats 
of  learning,  and  cause  them,  by  our  patronage  and  money,  fully  to  meet 
the  wants  of  the  church. 


560  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  vi. 

In  1859  t^^^  General  Assembly  again  warned  our  people  against 
the  danger  of  attempting  to  build  up  too  many  schools,  declaring 
that  "  it  is  better  to  encourage  co-operative  efforts  on  the  part  of  our 
congregations,  presbyteries,  and  synods  to  establish  a  few  church 
institutions  of  the  highest  order,  than  to  divide  means  and  influence 
in  efforts  to  establish  a  large  number  of  small  church  schools." 

We  learn  from  the  General  Assembly's  Minutes  that  there  were, 
in  1849,  "sixteen  chartered  institutions  belonging  to  the  church, 
together  with  a  number  of  other  male  and  female  high  schools 
under  the  patronage  of,  and  partly  belonging  to,  the  Cumberland 
Presbyterian  church."  In  1856,  the  report  on  education,  adopted 
by  the  Assembly,  says:  "There  are  now  under  the  control  of  the 
Cumberland  Presbyterian  church,  in  whole  or  in  part,  and  all  fully 
subserving  its  educational  interests,  about  thirty  institutions  of 
learning  of  high  order.  Invested  in  these  we  find  a  capital  of 
some  $331,725;  employed  in  the  same  seventy-eight  teachers,  and 
under  a  course  of  training  two  thousand  four  hundred  and  fifty 
pupils."  The  next  year  "thirty-six  or  more  institutions  of  learn- 
ing of  high  order"  were  reported,  in  which  there  were  "about  six 
thousand  pupils,  taught  by  one  hundred  and  twelve  professors." 

In  i860  the  names  of  twenty -nine  schools  and  colleges  were 
reported  to  the  General  Assembly.  The  list  included  "one  univer- 
sity, fifteen  colleges,  and  thirteen  academies,  institutes,  and  semi- 
naries," and  the  report  says  that  there  were  "various  other  high 
schools,  taught  and  patronized  by  members  of  our  church,  yet  not 
controlled  by  any  ecclesiastical  body."  The  names  of  the  colleges 
reported  at  that  time,  not  including  Cumberland  University,  were: 
Waynesburg  College,  Waynesburg,  Pennsylvania;  Beverly  College, 
Beverly,  Ohio;  Ewing  and  Jefferson  College,  Blount  County,  Ten- 
nessee; Princeton  College,  Princeton,  Kentucky;  Bethel  College, 
McLemoresville,  Tennessee;  Chapel  Hill  College,  Dangerfield, 
Texas;  Missouri  Female  College,  Boonville,  Missouri;  Larissa 
College,  Larissa,  Texas;  Cane  Hill  College,  Washington  County, 
Arkansas;  McGee  College,  College  Mound,  Missouri;  Columbia 
College,  Eugene  City,  Oregon;  Union  College,  Virginia,  Illinois; 
Union  Female  College,  Oxford,  Mississippi;  Cumberland  Female 
College,  McMinnville,  Tennessee;  Bacon  College,  Texas. 


Chapter  XLVI.]        OTHER   SCHOOLS   AND   COLLEGES.  561 

Chapel  Hill  College,  Missouri,  was  for  some  reason  omitted  from 
this  list.  This  school  is  mentioned  in  the  Assembly's  Minutes  for 
1849  ^s  ^  chartered  institution  with  several  professors.  In  185 1  it 
reported  one  hundred  and  forty  students  and  nine  thousand  dollars 
endowment.  It  was  under  the  care  of  Missouri  Synod,  and  the 
Rev.  Robert  D.  Morrow  was  its  president  in  1853.  ^^  ^^54  it  re- 
ported two  professors  and  forty  students.  In  1855  i^  ^^^  "good 
college  buildings  free  from  debt,  four  instructors,  and  one  hundred 
students."  It  doubtless  did  a  good  work  in  its  day,  but  the  details 
of  its  history  have  not  been  obtained. 

Of  the  fifteen  institutions  enumerated  in  the  foregoing  list, 
Waynesburg  College  was  probably  the  only  one  which  continued 
its  work  without  interruption  during  the  civil  war;  but  four  of 
the  others  still  exist  as  Cumberland  Presbyterian  schools,  viz. : 
Bethel  College,  Cane  Hill  College,  Union  Female  College,  and  the 
Cumberland  Female  College.  Efforts  were  made  after  the  war  to 
revive  several  of  the  others;  and  some  of  them  in  these  latest  strug- 
gles, before  becoming  finally  inoperative,  did  valuable  work.  To 
give  any  thing  like  a  full  history  of  all  of  our  dead  schools  and  col- 
leges would  require  a  volume.  Therefore  a  brief  sketch  of  three 
of  the  number,  one  a  co-educational  college  and  two  seminaries  for 
young  ladies,  is  all  that  is  here  attempted. 

McGEE    COLLEGE. 

Among  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  schools  which  accom- 
plished an  important  work,  and  then,  for  lack  of  endowment, 
ceased  to  exist,  McGee  College,  College  Mound,  Macon  County, 
Missouri,  was  one  of  the  most  useful.  It  was  first  known  as 
McGee  Seminary,  and  was  under  the  care  of  McGee  Presbytery, 
but  was  afterward  transferred  to  McAdow  Synod.  In  the  spring  of 
1853  it  reported  seventy  students.  James  Blewett,  A.  B. ,  was  then 
principal.  It  was  opened  as  a  college  in  October,  1853,  ^^^  ^^^ 
Rev.  J.  B.  Mitchell  became  its  president.  For  many  long  years  he 
and  his  faithful  co-workers  toiled  here  under  immense  difficulties 
to  train  up  consecrated  workers  for  the  church.  In  1859  the  faculty 
was  composed  of  eight  members,  and  the  school  had  two  hundred 
and  three  students,  seventy  of  whom  were  females. 
36 


5^2 


Cumberland  Presbyterian  History. 


[Period  VI. 


The  work  of  this  institution  was  suspended  during  the  civil 
war.  With  the  beginning  of  the  year  1866  its  doors  were  re- 
opened for  the  reception  of  students.  In  1867  a  full  faculty  was 
elected,  and  Dr.  Mitchell  resumed  liis  work  as  president.  For 
seven  }-ears  this  college  continued  to  do  a  valuable  work.  In  1869 
it  was  reported  as  "enjoying  a  larger  prosperity  than  at  any  former 
date."  In  1872  it  had  two  hundred  and  seventy-three  students, 
twenty-nine  of  whom  were  preparing  for  the  ministry. 

The  following  list  of  prominent  teachers  in  this  institution  is 
furnished  by  Dr.  Mitchell : 


rROFKSSORSIlIP. 


DATE. 


.T.  n. 

J.  H. 

Miss 
S.  M, 
G.S. 

A.  15. 
Azel 
.1.  M. 
J.  K. 

B.  E. 
J.  S. 
W.J 
V.\ 
F.  T 
J.  T. 
Miss 
Miss 


Mitchell,  P.T) 

Blewett,  A.B 

R.  A.  Hagiin,  M.A 

,  Wcedin,  A.M 

Howard,  A.B 

.  .Starke,  A.M 

Freemnn,  A.M 

,  Howard,  A.B 

Campbell 

Ciitlnio,  A.M 

Howard,  A.M 

.  Patton,  A.B 

uielle,  A.B 

.  Slicetz,  A.M 

Miti^hcll,  A.B 

S.J.  McCord,  B.S 

M.  T.  Jleiulersoii,  B.A.. 


I'residont,  Hliotoric,  Logic  .Tiid  Ethics 

Ancient  l.anguages  and  Mathematics 

Natural  Soicnct  and  ICnglish  Literature.. 

Ancient  Languages  and  C'heniistry 

Mathematics 

Ancient  and  Modern  Languages 

Natural  Science 

Ancient  Languages  and  Mathematics 

Natural  Science  and  English  Literature.. 

Latin  and  Greek 

Natural  Sciences 

Mathematics 

Modern  Languagesand  Hebrew 

Assistant  Latin  and  Greek 

Assistant  Latin  and  Greek 

Assistant  Natural  Science 

EnL'lish  Literature 


18.")3tol874. 
185310  18.5.1. 
l«.i3tol8o6. 
18.")4  to  18.56. 
18.^6  to  1861. 

18.57  to  1801. 

18.58  to  18S1. 
ISGGtolSCV. 
18GG  to  18G7. 
18G7  to  '874. 
18(;7  tol874. 
Ks;;7  to  1874. 
18G8  10  1874. 

1.S71  to . 

1872to]S74. 
lS7:ito  1874. 
1873  to  1874. 


This  institution  had  a  revival  of  religion  among  its  students 
almost  every  year.  After  the  war  it  had  a  S}'Stem  of  free  boarding 
for  candidates  for  the  ministry,  differing  somewhat  from  the  Camp 
Blake  plan  at  Cumberland  University.  The  details  are  thus  given 
in  the  catalogue  for  1869: 

The  trustees  of  the  college  furnish  rooms  and  stoves  therein  to  all 
known  to  be  preparing  for  the  ministry  in  the  Cumberland  Presbyte- 
rian church.  Their  meals  are  furnished  by  families  at  reasonable  rates. 
The  presbyteries  sending  probationers  meet  this  expense,  either  by  for- 
warding the  money,  or  by  furnishing  supplies  at  cash  rates.  A  com- 
mittee here  receive  these  funds  or  supplies,  and  appropriate  them  as 
directeil,  free  of  charge. 

This  institution  gave  instruction  to  thousands  of  pupils  who 
have  made  valuable  men  and  women,  filling  positions  of  honor 
and  usefulness  in  church  and  State,  and  in  the  different  callings 
and  professions.  Among  those  who,  from  first  to  last,  attended  its 
classes  were  more  than  one  hundred  and  thirty  young  men  prepar- 


Chapter  XLVI.]        OTHER   SCHOOLS   AND   COLLEGES.  563 

ing  for  the  ministry  in  the  different  Christian  denominations.  Not 
less  than  fifty- three  of  these  are  still  actively  preaching  the  gospel, 
while  several  others  have  died  in  the  service.  Some  of  the  best 
preachers  in  our  own  denomination  received  their  literar)''  training 
wholly  or  in  part  in  this  school.  Among  these  are  the  Rev.  J.  S. 
Howard,  of  Hernando,  Mississippi,  for  many  years  President  of 
Union  Female  College,  Oxford,  Mississippi;  the  Rev.  D.  E.  Bush- 
nell,  D.D.,  of  Waynesburg,  Pennsylvania;  the  Rev.  W.  O.  H.  Perry, 
President  of  Odessa  College,  Missouri;  the  Rev.  H.  R.  Crockett,  of 
Bethany,  Illinois;  the  Rev.  J.  E.  Sharp,  of  Marshall,  Missouri;  the 
Rev.  W.  B.  Farr,  D.D.,  Ph.D.,  of  Westport,  Missouri;  the  Rev.  A. 
D.  Hail,  missionary  to  Japan ;  the  Rev.  S.  H.  McElvain,  Fort  Smith, 
Arkansas;  the  Rev.  A.  h.  Barr,  Alton,  Illinois;  the  Rev.  B.  P.  Ful- 
lerton,  of  Kansas  City,  Missouri;  and  many  others.  The  work  of 
McGee  College  as  a  Cumberland  Presbyterian  school  finally  ended 
in  June,  1874. 

GREENVILLE  SEMINARY  FOR  YOUNG  LADIES. 
This  school  was  located  at  Greenville,  Kentucky,  and  was  imder 
the  care  of  Green  River  Synod.  It  had  property  worth  forty  thou- 
sand dollars  and  in  1858  was  in  successful  operation,  with  a  full 
corps  of  teachers,  and  with  good  prospects  of  increasing  usefulness. 
Under  several  able  men  its  work  was  carried  on  for  many  years. 
The  financial  management  and  support  of  the  school  were  con- 
nected with  a  joint  stock  company.  Complications  arose,  and  the 
school  was  transferred  to  an  individual,  and  finally,  in  1879,  under 
circumstances  which  fully  justified  this  course,  it  was  transferred 
by  him  to  a  member  of  the  Methodist  church. 

GREENWOOD  SEMINARY. 

This  was  a  school  for  young  ladies,  and  was  founded  by  N. 
Lawrence  Lindsley,  LL-D.,  after  he  resigned  his  professorship  in 
Cumberland  University.  He  located  his  school  in  the  midst  of  his 
fine  estates  near  Lebanon,  Tennessee,  and  conducted  it  from  the 
first  on  a  unique  plan.  The  number  of  young  ladies  was  limited 
to  just  sixteen,  and  no  one  was  ever  received  without  a  thorough 
previous  investigation.  The  pupils  were  as  thoroughly  cut  off 
from  outside  associations  as  it  was  possible  for  them  to  be.     Dr. 


564  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  vi. 

lyindsley  and  his  assistants  had  the  whole  training  of  these  pupils 
in  their  own  hands.  The  largest  private  library  in  Tennessee  was 
that  of  Dr.  Lindsley.  His  correspondence  with  literary  gentlemen 
both  in  America  and  Europe  was  also  extensive.  His  death  and 
that  of  his  wife  put  an  end  to  Greenwood  Seminary. 

Four  colleges  have  already  been  named  which,  after  suspending 
their  work  during  the  civil  war,  were  revived  and  continue  still  in 
operation.     A  brief  sketch  of  each  of  these  will  be  in  place  here: 

UNION  FEMALE  COLLEGE. 

The  incipient  steps  toward  the  founding  of  this  institution  were 
taken  by  Hernando  Synod  in  185 1.  The  synods  of  Mississippi  and 
Union,  and  afterward,  in  1853,  the  synod  of  West  Tennessee  joined 
in  this  undertaking,  and  commissioners  were  appointed  to  decide 
upon  a  location  for  the  new  college.  This  combination  was  the 
result  of  a  proposition  from  Bethel  College  that  these  four  synods 
should  enter  into  an  agreement  to  co-operate  in  establishing  two 
schools:  Bethel  College  for  young  men,  and  a  college  for  young 
ladies.  A  school  known  as  Oxford  Female  Academy,  controlled 
by  a  local  board  of  trustees,  had  been  chartered  at  Oxford,  Missis- 
sippi, in  1838.  The  Rev.  S.  G.  Burney,  D.D.,  was  elected  princi- 
pal of  this  school  in  1852,  and  still  held  this  position  wdien  the 
synodical  commissioners  met  in  1853.  The  property  belonging  to 
this  academy  and  other  valuable  donations  by  the  citizens  of  Ox- 
ford were  tendered  to  the  new  college  on  condition  that  it  should 
be  located  at  that  town.  The  commissioners  accepted  this  propo- 
sition, and  the  college  was  opened  in  the  fall  of  1853  with  Dr.  Bur- 
ney as  president.  The  institution  received  its  new  charter  as  Union 
Female  College,  February  4,  1854.  In  1856,  at  a  cost  of  twenty- 
five  thousand  dollars,  a  new  brick  building  fifty  by  one  hundred 
feet,  and  three  stories  high,  was  added  to  the  old  one,  a  two-storv' 
brick  thirty  feet  square.  With  its  enlarged  field  this  institution 
became  one  of  the  educational  powers  of  Mississippi,  and,  before 
the  war,  was  making  some  progress  in  securing  endowment.  Dr. 
Burney  resigned  in  1859  or  i860,  and  was  succeeded  by  the  Rev. 
R.  S.  Thomas,  D.D.,  who  continued  in  charge  of  the  institution 
until  its  work  was  suspended  by  the  war. 


Chapter  XLVI.]        OTHER   SCHOOLS   AND   COLLEGES.  565 

The  school  was  not  re-opened  until  the  autumn  of  1865,  when 
the  Rev.  C.  H.  Bell,  D.  D. ,  was  elected  president.  The  institution 
rapidly  regained  its  former  prosperity,  but  owing  to  the  prostration 
of  Southern  finances,  no  effort  was  made  to  renew  the  work  of 
soliciting  endowment.  It  is  high  time  that  this  work  was  resumed 
and  pushed  to  a  happy  completion.  From  the  catalogue  of  1870 
we  learn  that  ' '  This  institution  is  held  by  a  board  of  trustees, 
under  a  charter  from  the  State,  for  the  benefit  of  the  public,  and 
is  authorized  to  confer  the  highest  educational  honors.  The  prop- 
erty is  supposed  to  be  worth  about  thirty-five  thousand  dollars. ' ' 

In  1873  Dr.  Bell  resigned  the  presidency,  and  was  succeeded  by 
R.  J.  Guthrie,  A.  M.,  who  continued  in  charge  of  the  school  two 
years.  His  successor,  the  Rev.  J.  S.  Howard,  A.  M. ,  entered  upon 
his  duties  as  president  in  1875,  and  served  for  twelve  years,  resign- 
ing June,  1887,  W.  I.  Davis,  A.M.,  succeeded  him,  and  is  still  in 
charge.  Two  hundred  and  twenty-seven  young  ladies  have  gradu- 
ated from  this  college,  and  more  than  one  thousand  others  have 
here  received  their  education.  This  institution  has  struggled  with 
the  usual  difficulties  incident  to  unendowed  schools,  and  has  at 
times  been  much  involved  in  debt,  but  it  is  now  entirely  free  from 
incumbrance,  and  in  a  better  condition  financially  and  otherwise 
than  at  any  time  in  its  past  history.  It  is  now  owned  and  con- 
trolled by  the  synod  of  Mississippi. 

CUMBERLAND  FEMALE  COLLEGE. 

This  institution  was  located  at  McMinnville,  Tennessee,  in  1850, 
and  is  now  under  control  of  Middle  Tennessee  Synod.  Good  build- 
ings and  handsome  grounds,  free  from  debt,  were  secured,  and  the 
first  session  opened  in  1851.  Apparatus  and  library  were  partially 
provided,  but  no  endowment  has  ever  been  furnished.  The  location 
of  this  institution  is  one  of  the  most  healthful  in  the  world.  Ro- 
mantic scenery  adds  to  its  attractions.  A  strong  local  support,  that 
indispensable  requisite,  has  always  been  enjoyed  by  this  enterprise. 
No  college  ever  succeeds  without  vigorous  backing  in  the  com- 
munity where  it  is  located.  Our  church  at  McMinnville,  and  our 
churches  in  the  country  around  the  place  are  strong  enough  to 
make  the  college  feel  their  presence. 


566  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  vi. 

The  institution  has  had  five  presidents:  The  Rev.  A.  M.  Stone, 
1851  to  1855;  the  Rev.  J.  M.  Gill,  1855  to  1857;  D.  M.  Donnell, 
A.M.,  1857  to  1871;  A.  M.  Burney,  A.M.,  1871  to  1880;  N.  J. 
Finney,  A.M.,  1880,  to  the  present  time  (October,  1887).  Its  high- 
est prosperity  has  been  reached  under  the  present  administration. 
Additions  to  the  handsome  buildings  have  been  recently  made. 
The  patronage  has  always  been  good,  but  at  no  time  have  its  pros- 
pects been  brighter  than  at  present. 

President  Finney,  is  one  of  the  very  best  graduates  Cumber- 
land University  ever  educated.  He  is  an  earnest  Christian,  a  ripe 
scholar,  an  indefatigable  worker. 

BETHEL  COLLEGE. 

Bethel  College  was  organized  in  1851,  and  has  done  valuable 
work  for  the  Church.  Two  interesting  and  precious  facts  con- 
nected with  the  inner  life  of  this  institution  deserves  special  men- 
tion. The  first  is  the  intense  religious  interest  which  has  been 
mingled  with  its  educational  work.  Revivals  of  great  power 
almost  every  year,  bringing  the  pupils  into  the  army  of  Christ, 
have  been  led  and  fostered  by  the  faculty.  As  one  of  these  seasons 
for  protracted  meetings  approached,  the  young  Christians  in  the 
college  by  mutual  agreement  each  took  an  unconverted  friend  or 
comrade  with  him  to  secret  prayer.  Nearly  all  these  comrades 
were  led  to  Christ  before  the  meetings  closed. 

The  other  special  feature  of  the  work  of  Bethel  College  is  con- 
nected with  the  struggles  of  young  men  who  had  no  money.  The 
faculty  and  the  surrounding  community  adopted  their  own  peculiar 
method  of  encouraging  this  class  of  students.  Their  method  was 
not  to  give  the  boys  money,  but  to  show  them  how  to  get  along 
with  little,  and  earn  that  little  themselves.  Poor  students  were 
encouraged  to  live  in  the  "camps "  or  cabins  which  had  been  erected 
on  the  ground  near  the  college  building,  where  the  camp-meetings 
were  held.  These  students  did  their  own  cooking;  work  was  given 
them  so  as  to  enable  them  to  earn  wages  while  going  to  college. 
The  students  who  supported  themselves  in  this  way,  not  only  stood 
as  high  in  the  respect  of  the  community  as  the  wealthiest,  but 
often  far  higher. 


Chapter  XLVI.]        OTHER   SCHOOLS    AND    COLLEGES.  567 

The  Rev.  J.  M.  B.  Roacli  roomed  in  one  of  these  camps,  pre- 
paring his  own  meals,  and  serving  as  college  janitor.  He  was  hon- 
ored by  the  college  and  by  the  whole  community  above  the  ver>^ 
wealthiest  students,  and  he  deserved  it.  Though  poor  he  was  never 
a  beneficiary ;  and  his  brief  career  after  he  graduated — alas,  so  brief!— 
was  as  heroic  and  as  independent  as  was  his  life  in  Bethel  College. 
He  was  not  the  only  noble  graduate  of  that  institution.  Its  alumni 
in  all  parts  of  our  denominational  field  are  efficient  and  honored 
laborers  for  the  Master.  This  school  at  first  admitted  only  young 
men  and  boys  to  its  classes,  but  is  now  a  co-educational  college. 

There  is  a  lesson  from  the  experience  of  Bethel  College  about 
concentration.  When  some  good  brethren  of  West  Tennessee 
Synod  proposed  to  establish  this  institution,  others  opposed  it  on 
the  ground  that  the  church  already  had  in  Tennessee  one  college 
for  the  education  of  young  men.  These  objectors  were,  however, 
outvoted,  and  the  new  enterprise  was  inaugurated.  In  a  short  time 
a  small  fragment  of  West  Tennessee  Synod,  less  than  a  presbytery, 
opened  another  school  with  a  collegiate  name,  right  in  the  field  of 
Bethel  College,  using  the  very  same  arguments  which  had  been 
used  in  favor  of  establishing  that  institution.  Then  the  Bethel 
men  became  eloquent  in  their  pleading  for  concentration,  and  sent 
special  agents  to  Hernando  and  Mississippi  Synods  to  try  to  dis- 
suade them  from  a  scheme  which  they  were  discussing  looking 
toward  the  establishment  of  a  college  for  young  men.  The  agent 
sent  to  one  of  these  synods  succeeded  in  effecting  an  agreement  by 
which  the  matter  was  compromised,  and  the  founding  of  the  rival 
college  prevented.  That  compromise  has  continued  until  the  pres- 
ent time,  from  1853  to  1887. 

Bethel  College  had  one  regular  graduate  at  the  end  of  its  first 
collegiate  year.  There  were  six  in  its  senior  class  the  second  year, 
and  in  the  years  following  the  classes  continued  to  grow.  Before 
the  war  this  school  had  the  best  telescope  to  be  found  in  any  of  our 
colleges.  While  the  great  conflict  was  raging,  some  soldiers  carried 
this  instrument  off  to  the  camps,  believing  that  they  had  captured 
a  brass  cannon!  When  railroads  drew  the  town,  McLemoresville, 
away  from  the  college,  it  pulled  up  stakes  and  moved  to  McKenzie, 
Tennessee,  where  it  still  continues  its  work. 


568  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  vi. 

It  is  said  that  the  first  president  of  this  institution,  the  Rev.  J. 
N.  Roach,  used  to  employ  the  switch  as  an  instrument  of  discipline, 
not  sparing  even  young  men.  He  was  regarded  by  the  trustees  as 
a  master  disciplinarian.  But  when  he  used  the  switch  he  often 
took  the  pupil  with  him  into  the  woods,  where  he  would  pray  with 
him  awhile,  and  then  whip  awhile.  After  whipping  and  praying 
had  alternated  in  one  case  for  some  time,  he  appealed  to  the  stu- 
dent, asking,  "What  more  can  I  do  for  you?"  The  answer  was, 
"I  think  you  would  better  pray  again." 

This  president  practiced  the  most  rigid  system  of  espionage  on  his 
pupils.  Many  a  night  he  would  be  out  nearly  all  night,  watching 
to  catch  the  boys  in  their  mischief  He  required  the  professors  to 
take  night  and  night  about  with  him  in  these  vigils.  Whatever 
may  be  said  against  such  a  method  of  discipline,  it  was  certainly 
popular  in  that  community. 

The  succession  of  presidents  in  Bethel  has  been :  the  Rev.  J.  N. 
Roach,  A.B.,  the  Rev.  C.  J.  Bradley,  the  Rev.  Azel  Freeman,  D.D., 
the  Rev.  Felix  Johnson,  D.D.,  the  Rev.  B.  W.  McDonnold,  D.D., 
the  Rev.  J.  S.  Howard,  A.M.,  the  Rev.  W.  W.  Hendrix,  D.D.,  W. 
B.  Sherrill,  A.M.,  the  Rev.  J.  L.  Dickens,  A.IM.  This  institution 
now  has  two  hundred  and  thirty  students  enrolled;  sixteen  of  these 
are  preparing  to  enter  the  ministr)-'. 

CANE  HILL  COLLEGE. 

As  has  been  seen  in  a  former  chapter,  efforts  to  establish  an 
institution  of  learning  on  Cane  Hill,  Arkansas,  were  begun  by  our 
people  as  early  as  1834.  As  there  were  then  no  State  schools, 
all  educational  enterprises  were  carried  on  by  personal  effort.  The 
influence  of  several  private  schools,  conducted  by  teachers  of  good 
attainments,  gave  impetus  to  the  educational  spirit  already  among 
the  people.  They  thought  that  they  must  have  a  college.  Like 
many  others,  they  supposed  that  a  building  a  little  better  than  the 
ordinary  school-house,  with  two  or  three  educated  teachers,  would 
constitute  a  college.  Accordingly  a  brick  house  was  built,  and  in 
1852  a  charter  was  secured  from  the  legislature,  and  Cane  Hill  Col- 
lege was  opened  at  Boonsboro,  Washington  County,  Arkansas. 

This  school  was  put  under  the  care  of  the  Arkansas  Synod,  and 


Chapter  XLVL]        OTHER   SCHOOLS   AND   COLLEGES.  569 

the  Rev.  Robert  M.  King,  of  Missouri,  was  elected  president.  He 
was  assisted  by  Prof.  S.  Doak  Lowry.  After  laboring  efficiently  for 
several  years,  Mr.  King  resigned,  and  moved  back  to  Missouri. 
Professor  howry  was  then  in  charge  of  the  school,  and  was  assisted 
by  Prof  James  H.  Crawford  and  Prof  Pleasant  W.  Buchanan.  An 
effort  was  made  to  raise  endowment  by  scholarships,  and  the  Rev. 
W.  G.  L.  Quaite  was  appointed  endowing  agent.  He  secured  in 
donation  notes  and  scholarship  pledges  several  thousand  dollars, 
but  the  wreck  and  ruin  wrought  by  the  war,  which  soon  followed, 
rendered  all  these  utterly  valueless. 

Before  the  war  a  new  building,  worth  about  six  thousand  dol- 
lars, was  erected.  In  March,  1859,  the  Rev.  F.  R.  Earle,  of  Green- 
ville, Kentucky,  accepted  the  presidency,  and  was  formally  inau- 
gurated in  the  following  June.  He  found  the  college  in  good 
working  order.  At  the  close  of  the  collegiate  year,  in  June,  1859, 
two  young  men,  S.  H.  Buchanan  and  J.  T.  Buchanan,  were  regu- 
larly graduated,  receiving  the  first  diplomas  ever  issued  by  the 
college.  At  that  time,  also,  the  first  catalogue  was  issued,  S.  H. 
Buchanan  was  employed  as  tutor  for  the  next  session.  In  June, 
i860.  Prof  Lowry  resigned.  The  Rev.  W.  P.  Gillespie  was  after- 
ward elected  to  fill  the  vacancy.  The  school  prospered  until  1861. 
Then  came  the  war,  by  which  its  work  was  suspended.  The  col- 
lege buildings,  with  a  valuable  little  library,  and  some  apparatus, 
were  completely  destroyed  by  fire  in  November,  1864. 

One  house  belonging  to  the  college,  and  formerly  used  as  a 
boarding-house  for  young  preachers,  escaped  the  flames.  After  the 
war  closed  the  president  returned,  and  began  to  teach  and  preach  in 
this  building.  In  1868  a  new  frame  building,  worth  about  five 
thousand  dollars,  was  erected  on  the  old  foundation,  and  in  Septem- 
ber the  president,  assisted  by  Prof  James  Mitchell,  opened  school 
in  this  new  house.  In  September,  1869,  Prof  J.  P.  Carnahan  was 
added  to  the  teaching  force.  In  1874  Prof.  Mitchell  retired,  and 
accepted  a  more  lucrative  position  in  the  State  University.  Prof 
Harold  Bourland  was  employed  to  fill  the  vacancy.  He  remained, 
however,  for  only  one  session. 

In  1875  the  trustees  resolved  to  admit  pupils  of  both  sexes  and 
the  Rev.  H.  M.  Welch  was  chosen  as  principal  of  the  department  for 


570  Cumberland  Preseyteriax  History.       [Period  vi. 

young  ladies.  In  1879  ^^'o^-  Welch  retired.  In  the  four  years  fol- 
lowino-,  Mrs.  Earle,  Miss  Welch,  Miss  Moore,  and  Mrs.  Whittenberg 
were  employed  as  teachers  whenever  the  patronage  demanded  it. 

In  1883  Prof.  Carnahan  retired,  having  taught  fourteen  years. 
The  president  then  had  entire  control  of  the  work  until  1885, 
when  he,  too,  resigned,  and  the  Rev.  J.  P.  Russell  was  called  to 
take  charge.  He  taught  two  terms  and  a  half  In  the  second  ses- 
sion of  his  administration  the  college  building  was  burned.  In  this 
emergency  the  Methodists  of  the  village  generously  tendered  the  use 
of  their  church,  and  this,  with  a  small  dwelling-house  rented  for 
the  occasion,  furnished  room  for  the  school,  and  the  work  went  on. 

After  the  resignation  of  Mr.  Russell,  Dr.  Earle  again  undertook 
the  labors  and  responsibilities  of  the  work.  In  1886  a  new  build- 
inof  on  a  new  foundation  was  erected.  This  is  better  than  either 
of  the  former  buildings.  In  1887,  the  president,  assisted  by  two 
good  teachers,  opened  school  in  the  new  building,  with  a  good  pat- 
ronage and  a  fair  promise  of  success.  Excepting  the  two  and  a 
half  sessions  taught  by  Mr,  Russell,  and  the  vacation  enforced  by 
the  civil  war.  President  Earle  has  been  in  charge  of  the  school  from 
March,  1859,  until  the  present  time.  In  all  that  time  he  has  been 
the  only  pastor  of  the  congregation  worshiping  in  the  college  chapel. 
Within  this  period  thirty-four  young  men  and  young  women  have 
graduated.  Of  these  all  but  three  are  living,  and  are  doing  good 
work,  several  of  them  as  ministers.  A  large  number  of  students 
who  did  not  finish  the  college  course  have  gone  forth  from  this  school 
to  their  life  work.  The  institution  still  lives.  It  has  property  worth 
at  least  eight  thousand  dollars.  It  is  situated,  however,  right  under 
the  shadow  of  a  heavily-endowed  State  university,  which  furnishes 
practically  free  tuition,  and  therefore  labors  at  a  disadvantage. 

The  limits  of  this  volume  will  not  permit  the  introduction  here 
of  the  history  of  all  the  schools  founded  by  Cumberland  Presbyte- 
rians since  the  close  of  the  war,  and  now  doing  a  good  work.  A 
brief  notice  of  three  or  four  of  them  is  all  that  can  be  attempted. 

WARD'S   SEMINARY,  NASHVILLE,  TENNESSEE. 

This  school  was  founded  by  W.  E.  Ward,  D.D.,  in  1865,  who 
began  the  work  when  the  country  round  him  was  still  covered  with 


Chapter  XLVI.]        OTHER   SCHOOLS  AND   COLLEGES.  57I 

the  ruins  tlie  war  had  made.  He  had  visited  all  the  principal  col- 
leges for  young  ladies  in  America,  thoroughly  acquainting  himself 
with  modern  methods.  He  made  a  brave  beginning,  and  soon 
attained  the  highest  rank  as  an  educator.  A  long-tried  son  of  the 
church,  and  giving  the  most  liberal  advantages  to  the  daughters  of 
its  ministers,  he  commanded  the  hearty  co-operation  of  our  people 
in  this  private  enterprise.  From  the  first  the  school  took  high 
rank,  and  still  maintains  it.  Over  two  hundred  teachers  have 
received  their  education  at  this  institution.  While  laboring  in  this 
school,  and  securing  its  great  success.  Dr.  Ward  has  been  alive  to 
the  best  interests  of  the  church,  taking  an  active  part  for  over 
fifteen  years  as  a  member  of  our  Board  of  Publication,  as  well  as 
in  the  building  up  of  our  church  in  Nashville.  The  seminary  is 
now  in  the  prime  of  its  career,  and  no  doubt  will  go  on  to  a  greater 
success.  It  teaches  one  valuable  lesson — that  great  enterprises 
must  have  time  and  patience,  and  a  head  to  work  out,  through 
long  years,  the  consummation  they  set  out  to  make.  The  first 
year  this  school  had  one  hundred  and  eight  pupils.  The  patronage 
steadily  increased,  until  in  1883  the  number  enrolled  was  three 
hundred  and  fifty-four.  Its  largest  graduating  class,  that  of  1884- 
1885,  numbered  fifty-six.  The  total  number  of  graduates  sent 
forth  by  this  school  up  to  1887  was  eight  hundred  and  eighty.^ 

SPRING  HILL  INSTITUTE. 

This  school  was  founded  by  the  Rev.  J.  L.  Cooper,  just  after 
the  war.  It  is  located  in  Kemper  County,  Mississippi.  Though 
private  property  it  is  regarded  as  one  of  our  very  useful  institutions. 
Without  any  high  pretensions,  it  goes  steadily  and  earnestly  on  in 
its  work  of  usefulness.  The  aim  of  Mr.  Cooper  was  to  establish 
an  institution  according  to  his  own  ideas,  and  place  it  out  of  the 
reach  of  contaminating  influences.     In  carrying  out  his  plan  he 


'  Since  this  sketch  was  written,  Dr.  Ward  has  passed  from  his  earthly  toil  to  his 
reward.  In  the  summer  of  1S87  he  sought  relief  from  severe  illness,  caused  by  over- 
work, in  a  voyage  to  Europe.  After  his  arrival  in  England  he  grew  worse  and  sailed 
for  home,  but  died  on  shipboard  in  mid-ocean.  July  20th,  1SS7.  His  death  brought 
sorrow  to  the  hearts  of  his  pupils  and  his  brethren  throughout  the  church,  and  at 
Nashville  was  mourned  as  a  public  calamity.  The  school  he  founded  continues  its 
work  with  undimished  success. 


572  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  vi. 

followed  the  example  of  N.  Lawrence  Lindsley,  LL.D.,  of  Green- 
wood Seminary,  and  placed  his  academy  in  the  center  of  his  own 
large  area  of  land,  so  that  he  could  control  every  lot  and  every  set- 
tlement upon  the  premises.  He  has  carried  forward  this  enterprise 
successfully.  His  corps  of  teachers  is  always  full,  and  the  patron- 
age of  the  school  always  about  equal  to  the  number  it  is  able  to 
accommodate.  Of  the  results  of  co-education,  after  a  pretty  thor- 
ough test,  Mr.  Cooper  speaks  thus: 

We  have  tried  our  plan  of  a  male  and  female  school  for  three  years, 
and  success  has  crowned  our  efforts  thus  far.  Here  brothers  and  sisters 
meet  in  the  same  chapel  at  roll-call  and  at  prayers,  after  which  the  sister 
takes  her  seat  in  the  study  hall,  and  the  brother  retires  to  his  boarding 
room.  When  the  bell  calls  them  to  recitation,  they  again  meet  and 
recite  to  the  same  teachers;  and,  thus,  all  the  stimulants  to  neatness  of 
'dress,  puiity  of  language,  ease  of  manner  and  address,  and  high  intel- 
lectual endeavor,  growing  out  of  contact  with  the  other  sex  under 
wholesome  restraints  are  secured.  By  having  separate  boarding-houses, 
and  by  holding  the  reins  of  government  firmly,  yet  kindly,  we  find  the 
school  much  more  easily  controlled  than  either  a  male  or  female  school 
separate. 

Several  of  our  best  living  ministers  were  educated  mainly  at 
Spring  Hill;  some  of  them  in  the  same  classes  with  their  wives, 
for  married  preachers  are  still  thronging  all  our  schools. 

LOUDON   HIGH   SCHOOL. 

Though  it  has  only  a  modest  name,  this  institution  teaches  a 
full  college  course.  It  was  established  by  East  Tennessee  Synod, 
in  1869,  at  Loudon,  Tennessee.  It  has  had  a  very  respectable  fac- 
ulty of  real  scholars.  It  has  aimed  to  secure  endowment,  but  its 
field  is  too  circumscribed  to  give  large  hopes  of  success.  Amid 
beautiful  scenery,  with  historic  surroundings,  in  ample  buildings, 
the  school  presents  a  most  fascinating  exterior.  Of  its  inner  life 
the  writer  has  no  information. 

EDUCATIONAL  WORK  IN  MISSOURI. 

The  church  in  Missouri  suffered  a  great  loss  by  the  closing  of 
McGee  College,  in  1874.  But  our  people  did  not  become  dispirited. 
It  was  decided  to  resume  educational  work  and  to  profit  by  the  dis- 
asters of  the  past.     Several  valuable  schools  had  been  lost  by  the 


Chapter  XLVI.]        OTHER   SCHOOLS   AND   COLLEGES.  573 

want  of  permanent  endowment,  hence  the  synods  of  the  State 
agreed  to  co-operate  in  raising  one  hundred  thousand  dollars  as  a 
permanent  endowmenc  fund,  and  not  to  open  another  college  until 
that  amount  should  be  secured,  this  being  considered  a  safe  nucleus. 
The  work  of  securing  money  has  been  going  steadily  forward  for 
several  years,  and  at  this  time  it  is  believed  that  the  one  hundred 
thousand  dollars  has  been  fully  provided  for  by  the  educational 
commission  of  the  co-operating  synods.  The  contemplated  insti- 
tution will,  therefore,  no  doubt  be  founded  in  the  near  future. 

Notwithstanding  this  action  of  the  synods  looking  toward  the 
founding  of  one  central  college  for  Missouri,  several  schools,  con- 
trolled mainly  or  entirely  by  Cumberland  Presbyterians,  have  been 
kept  in  operation  in  the  State.  Stewartsville  Seminary,  a  private 
enterprise,  under  the  charge  of  the  Rev.  W.  O.  H.  Pern-,  had  since 
1863  been  doing  a  good  work.  In  1879  it  was  chartered  as  Stew- 
artsville College,  and  in  the  years  following  it  sent  forth  about 
twenty  graduates.  On  account  of  the  loss  of  its  buildings  by  fire, 
its  work  was,  in  1887,  brought  to  an  end.  Prof  Perry  has  recently 
taken  charge  of  Odessa  College,  a  school  established  by  the  citizens 
of  Odessa,  Missouri.  Ozark  College,  at  Greenfield,  in  the  south- 
western part  of  the  State,  belongs  to  Ozark  Presbytery,  and  has 
grown  into  an  institution  of  considerable  importance.  The  Rev. 
A.  J.  McGlumphy,  D.D.,  LL/.D.,  formerly  president  of  Lincoln 
University,  Illinois,  has  recently  taken  charge  of  this  school. 

CHEAP   SCHOLARSHIPS. 

As  so  many  of  our  colleges  have  committed  themselves  to 
cheap  scholarships,  and  as  circumstances  in  the  past  compelled  the 
writer  of  this  history  to  make  an  exhaustive  investigation  of  all 
the  questions  connected  with  this  plan  for  securing  endowment,  it 
may  not  be  improper  to  give  some  of  the  general  conclusions 
reached  in  that  investigation. 

The  scholarship  plan  strikes  a  fatal  blow  at  the  only  depend- 
ence any  unendowed  college  has  for  support.  Tuition  fees  may 
keep  up  a  faculty  for  a  little  season,  but  for  an  unendowed  college 
to  adopt  a  scheme  which  reduces  or  destroys  tuition  fees  is  suicidal. 
The  scheme  of  limited  scholarships  aims  at  endowing  the  college 


574  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  vi. 

by  defrauding  three  generations  of  teachers.  "If  we  can  only 
struggle  through  the  limited  period,  then  we  will  have  a  safe 
endowment."  Yes,  if — but  O  what  a  long  and  fraudulent  if  it  is! 
"If  we  can  only  find  professors  to  teach  for  us  without  adequate  pay 
for  a  few  years,  then  all  the  scholarships  will  have  expired,  and  we 
shall  have  a  safely  invested  endowment."  As  respectable  and 
competent  professors  can  not  be  secured  without  pay,  the  few 
years  must  be  struggled  throiigh  with  such  teachers  as  will  work 
on  less  than  one  fourth  an  adequate  salary.  In  some  cases,  long 
before  the  limited  period  expires  the  institution  dies.  In  other 
cases  the  trustees  save  its  life  by  a  breach  of  trust — using  the  prin- 
cipal of  these  scholarships  to  retain  the  faculty.  In  still  other 
cases  the  principal  is  so  reduced  by  agent's  fees,  losses  on  invest- 
ments, and  other  processes,  that  the  institution  finds  itself  bound 
to  teach,  without  pay  and  without  endowment,  as  many  students 
as  are  likely  ever  to  seek  instruction  within  its  walls.  It  then 
repudiates  its  scholarships,  having  no  alternative  left.  By  this 
process  so  many  of  the  real  friends  of  the  institution  are  alienated 
that  all  prospects  for  real  endowment  are  sadly  diminished.  Even 
the  voluntary  surrender  of  these  scholarships,  in  view  of  obvious 
necessities,  lessens  the  prospects  of  securing  real  endowment  after- 
ward. 

In  well-known  cases  a  large  number  of  scholarship  claims  have 
been  bought  up  at  low  rates  by  trustees  residing  near  the  college. 
Though  the  original  form  of  these  scholarships  did  not  allow  them 
to  be  rented,  yet  these  trustees,  being  the  law  makers  of  the  insti- 
tution, and  having  now  a  private  interest  to  serve,  have  met  to- 
gether and  enlarged  the  privileges  of  these  claims  so  that  they 
could  be  rented  for  a  session  at  a  time.  Then  these  trustees,  being 
on  the  ground,  have  underbid  the  faculty  for  the  patronage  of 
such  students  as  would  have  paid  the  highest  tuition! 

The  scholarship  scheme  appeals  to  \^Tong  motives.  It  goes  to 
men  with  offers  and  inducements  of  a  financial  character.  They 
are  asked  to  make  an  investment  of  money  with  an  eye  to  future 
profits,  not  as  a  gift  to  the  blessed  Lord.  All  the  high  motives 
which  influence  earnest  Christians  to  liberality  and  self-sacrifice — 
love  for  church  and  the  ministry',  love  for  the  Master  and  the  souls 


Chaptci  XLvi.]      Other  Schools  and  Colleges.  575 

for  whom  lie  died — arc  sunk  into  the  low,  sordid  hope  of  making 
a  profitable  investment  of  a  few  hundred  dollars.  No  Abbot  Law- 
rence will  ever  be  developed  among  us  by  these  sordid  appeals. 
To  the  mistaken  schemes  for  securing  endowment  by  cheap  schol- 
arships is  it  chiefly  due  that  no  very  large  donations  have  ever  been 
made  by  any  one  man  to  any  of  our  colleges. 

Let  two  agents  start  side  by  side,  one  to  work  for  a  college 
which  never  appeals  to  sordid  motives,  which  asks  only  for  unin- 
cumbered endowment,  and  the  other  for  an  institution  which  has 
adopted  the  plan  of  cheap  scholarships;  and,  other  things  being 
equal,  the  former  will  secure  far  more  money  than  the  latter.  The 
difference  will  grow  immeasurably  great  if  the  former  agent  repre- 
sents a  college  which  is  out-and-out  and  forever  all  for  Jesus,  and 
justly  bases  all  its  appeals  for  help  on  love  to  Christ's  kingdom; 
while  the  other  represents  men,  corporations,  or  towns,  which  have 
private  axes  to  grind  while  pretending  to  ask  assistance  in  the 
name  of  the  sacred  cause  of  religion. 

The  church  educates  its  members  by  the  methods  it  adopts. 
The  agents  whom  it  sends  forth  to  solicit  money  are  educators. 
Under  those  perverted  methods  employed  in  securing  endowment 
funds  through  scholarships,  and  by  kindred  schemes  for  raising 
money  for  missions,  or  to  sustain  the  work  in  our  congregations, 
we  have  encouraged  a  species  of  giving  which  is  in  many  cases  a 
sham  and  a  cheat.  There  are  those  who  think  themselves  the 
most  devoted  Christians  on  earth,  who  have  not  learned  the  first 
lesson  in  consecration  and  self-denial. 

The  scholarship  evil  is  but  one  of  the  many  substitutes  which 
men  are  prone  to  adopt  instead  of  the  divine  plan  of  raising  money 
for  the  Master's  kingdom.  Some  of  these  substitutes  might  be  in- 
nocent enough  in  themselves  if  they  were  not  used  to  crowd  out 
God's  own  appointed  method  of  training  a  church  to  give  system- 
atically and  from  principle. 

Is  there  no  supreme  love  to  Christ?  Is  there  no  heart  so  full 
of  devotion  to  him  that  its  utmost  possible  gift  would  be  gladly 
bestowed,  and  which  weeps  bitter  tears  because  it  has  no  more  to 
offer?  Once  an  agent  of  one  of  our  colleges  was  accosted  by  the 
wife  of  a  wealthy  man.     Her  husband  was  not  a  Christian,  and 


576  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  vi. 

though  he  controlled  vast  estates,  he  dealt  out  money  to  his  wife 
with  a  sparing  hand.  When  she  was  alone  with  the  agent  she  said 
to  him:  "My  heart  is  nearly  breaking  because  I  can  not  do  some- 
thing for  my  Savior  through  your  institution.  I  believe  that  work 
is  sacred  to  my  Redeemer,  but  I  have  only  one  thing  in  the  world 
which  I  am  at  liberty  to  give  you  without  asking  my  husband: 
that  is  my  diamonds.  I  have  a  full  set  that  cost  a  large  sum.  I 
want  the  Savior  to  accept  the  poor  little  offering,  and  use  it  in 
training  men  to  preach  the  gospel."  That  was  giving  to  Jesus. 
^''O  si  sic  omnes.''^ 


Chapter  XLVII.]  PUBLICATION.  577 


CHAPTER   XLVII. 


PUBLICATION,    NEWSPAPERS,    REVISION,    AND 
TEMPERANCE. 

For  the  cause  that  lacks  assistance, 
For  the  wrongs  which  need  resistance, 
For  the  future  in  the  distance. 

— Dr.  GniJirie. 

FOUR  subjects  which  belong  to  more  than  one  period  of  this 
history  have  been  reserved  for  this  special  chapter.     They  are 
Publication,  Newspapers,  Revision,  and  Temperance. 

PUBLICATION.' 

Cumberland  Presbyterians  manifested  very  early  their  apprecia- 
tion of  the  printing  press.  The  founders  of  this  church,  before 
the  organization  of  its  first  presbytery,  sent  forth  to  the  world, 
"The  Remonstrance  of  the  Council,"  an  "Address  to  the  Christian 
Reader,"  and  probably  other  short  publications.  The  first  official 
document  issued  by  our  people  was  probably  the  "Circular  Letter," 
published  in  1810,  by  which  the  church  announced  and  vindicated 
its  own  existence.  Old  Cumberland  Synod  at  its  first  meeting, 
held  in  October,  1813,  at  Beech  meeting-house,  Sumner  county, 
Tennessee,  appointed  a  committee  to  prepare  a  complete  account 
of  the  rise,  histon,',  and  doctrines  of  Cumberland  Presbytery,  to 
be  published  in  Woodward's  third  edition  of  Buck's  Theological 
Dictionary'.     This  account  was  accordingly  prepared  and  published. 

When  the  synod  of  1814  adopted  the  Confession  of  Faith,  Cate- 
chism, and  Discipline,  Finis  Ewing  and  Hugh  Kirkpatrick  agreed 
with  the  synod  to  print  the  bbok  at  eighty-seven  and  one  half 
cents  per  copy,  "upon  good  writing  paper,  neatly  bound  and  let- 
tered. ' '  It  is  not  certain  that  this  contract  was  ever  carried  out. 
The  Confession  was  probably  not  printed  until  seven  years  later. 

'This  sketch  of  the  pubh'shins:  work  of  the  church  was  prepared  bj  J.  M.  Gaut, 
Esq.,  President  of  the  Board  of  Publication. 

37 


578  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  vi. 

The  oldest  copy  now  known  to  be  extant  was  printed  at  Russell- 
ville,  Kentucky,  in  1821,  by  Charles  Rhea.  This  was  the  first  book 
ever  issued  by  Cumberland  Presbyterians. 

For  the  first  ten  or  fifteen  years  of  the  church's  existence,  its 
preachers  were  too  intent  on  bringing  sinners  to  Christ  to  think  of 
ecclesiastical  machinery ;  but  in  course  of  time  they  began  to  think 
more  of  the  equipments  of  the  church.  The  first  step  looking  to- 
ward a  publishing  department  was  taken  by  the  synod  in  1825.  lu 
adopting  the  plan  of  old  Cumberland  College,  the  synod  provided 
that  the  commissioners  should  be  authorized  to  connect  with  it,  if 
they  thought  expedient,  a  printing  office,  to  publish  a  "periodical 
paper,"  books,  tracts,  etc.  This  was  not  deemed  expedient  how- 
ever. 

The  aspirations  of  the  young  church  seem  to  have  been  kin- 
dled in  a  number  of  directions  about  this  time.  The  synod  at  its 
meeting  in  1823  required  each  presbytery  to  report  its  history  to 
the  synod.  All  of  the  twelve  presbyteries,  except  two,  complied; 
and  these  documents  were  filed  with  the  clerk  of  the  synod,  and 
the  presbyteries  were  ordered  to  continue  their  reports.  In  1824 
the  synod  appointed  a  committee  to  collect  materials  for  a  church 
history.  In  1825  i^  niade  arrangements  for  publishing  the  lectures 
which  Finis  Ewing  had  delivered  in  his  school  in  Missouri.  A 
committee  wds  appointed  to  secure  from  the  records  of  the  Presby- 
terian church  the  history'  of  the  Cumberland  Presb}'terian  preach- 
ers who  had  been  connected  with  that  church.  It  also  appointed  a 
committee,  consisting  of  Samuel  King,  Robert  Donnell,  and  James 
B.  Porter,  to  compile  a  hymn  book.  This  committee  made  the 
compilation  and  by  authority  published  the  book,  and  sold  six 
thousand  copies  ;  ultimately,  in  1848,  the  plates  of  this  hymn  book, 
with  the  committee's  debts,  were  transferred  to  the  Board  of  Pub- 
lication. 

The  Assembly  of  1845,  carrying  out  the  spirit  of  resolutions 
adopted  in  1843,  provided  for  the  committing  of  its  business  trans- 
actions to  the  care  of  boards.  A  Board  of  Publication  was  created, 
called  a  "Publishing  Association."  A  constitution  was  adopted, 
prescribing  its  powers  and  duties,  and  making  it  a  sort  of  stock  com- 
pany.    The  members  of  the  board  were  Richard    Beard,  Milton 


Chapter  XLVIL]  PUBLICATION.  57^ 

Bird,  H.  A.  Hunter,  Le  Roy  Woods,  J.  F.  Wilkins,  Wm.  Miller, 
James  M.  Rogers,  and  Alonzo  Liverniore.  It  seems  to  have  been 
a  cumbersome  piece  of  machinery  ;  and  was  never  called  together 
even  for  organization  until  -about  two  years  after  its  creation,  and 
the  very  day  before  the  Assembly  abolished  it.  The  Assembly  of 
1847  appointed  a  simple  Committee  of  Publication,  consisting  of 
five  members,  the  Rev.  Milton  Bird,  the  Rev.  Laban  Jones,  and 
Ruling  Elders  T.  E.  McLean,  A.  M.  Phelps,  and  James  E.  Strat- 
ton,  and  instructed  them  to  procure  a  charter  of  incorporation. 
This  board  located  its  work  at  Louisville,  Kentucky,  where  Milton 
Bird  lived,  and  who  sooner  or  later  was  president,  corresponding 
secretar}^,  publishing  agent,  book  editor,  and  salesman. 

The  business  of  the  board  was  carried  on  at  Louisville,  from 
1847  to  1858.  A  general  statement  of  its  history  during  this  period 
has  been  given  on  pages  313-316  of  this  volume.  Only  a  few  de- 
tails will  be  added.  During  the  years  1848  and  1849,  about  $2,900 
was  donated  to  it,  and  the  sales  amounted  to  about  $1,400.  In 
1850  Dr.  Bird  resigned  as  publishing  agent,  and  the  Rev.  Le  Roy 
Woods  was  appointed  in  his  stead.  After  this  the  donations 
dropped  down  to  a  few  hundred  dollars  per  year,  and  the  main  de- 
pendence was  upon  sales.  Up  to  1853  the  total  donations  were 
reported  at  $3, 129.76,  and  the  assets  then  amounted  to  $3,725.62, 
showing  an  increase  of  $595.86.  The  agent  was  paid  $500  for  five 
sixths  of  his  time.  The  printing  was  done  by  contract.  Difficulty 
was  experienced  in  getting  frequent  meetings  of  the  board,  a  quo- 
rum not  living  in  Louisville.  Complaints  were  made  by  several 
General  Assemblies  because  the  board  failed  to  report  fully  or 
in  due  time,  and,  on  one  occasion,  because  it  did  not  report  at 
all.  A  memorial  from  the  Pennsylvania  Synod  was  presented  to 
the  Assembly  of  1850,  praying  a  removal  of  the  "Book  Concern" 
to  a  place  farther  eastward.  The  prayer  was  refused.  It  is  quite 
remarkable  that  two  reports  of  the  board,  doubtless  written  by  Dr. 
Bird,  announce  business  principles  whose  soundness  it  has  required 
years  of  sad  experience  to  enable  our  own  and  other  churches  to 
appreciate.  He  condemned  the  extending  of  credit  and  the  con- 
tracting of  debts.  He  opposed  the  fixing  of  too  low  prices  on  the 
books,  the  clamor  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding.     He  protested 


c8o  CUMBERI.AND   PRESBYTERIAN   HiSTORY.  [Period  VI. 

against  the  keeping  up  of  depositories  at  the  risk  and  expense  of 
the  board,  and  favored,  instead,  agencies  conducted  by  the  jiresb)- 
teries  or  individuals.  He  opposed  changes  in  the  location  of  the 
board,  and  recognized  the  need  of  a  book  editor,  and  the  necessity 
of  paying  for  manuscripts.  The  books  then  most  needed  were,  in 
his  opinion,  a  treatise  on  our  theology,  a  church  history,  biograph- 
ical sketches  of  our  ministers,  children's  books,  and  doctrinal  and 
practical  tracts. 

But  all  of  this  good  preaching  against  the  credit  system  was 
followed  by  some  very  bad  practice  on  the  part  of  somebody.  By 
1854  the  board  had  become  largely  indebted  to  its  printers,  Morton 
&  Griswold,  Louisville,  Kentucky.  This  debt,  according  to  the 
board's  statement,  was  more  than  $2,000.  There  was  due  on 
sales  of  books  for  1853,  ^^56,  and  for  1854,  $1,042 — about  one  third 
of  the  entire  amount  of  the  sales.  The  board  became  alarmed  and 
reduced  the  salary  of  the  agent,  and  he  resigned.  The  Rev.  Jesse 
Anderson  was  appointed  in  his  stead. 

The  Assembly  of  1854  gave  some  very  pointed  orders  about  re- 
porting, and  abstaining  from  the  credit  system.  As  measures  of 
relief,  it  recommended  the  employment  of  soliciting  agents  and 
colporteurs,  and  an  inciease  in  the  price  of  the  books.  It  recom- 
mended further  that  none  but  an  experienced  book-keeper  should 
be  appointed  agent.  The  board's  report  for  that  year  is  not  clear, 
but  the  Assembly's  committee  reported  the  assets  at  about  1:4,500, 
and  the  debts  about  $2,500.  A  committee  of  three  was  appointed 
to  audit  the  books  of  the  board.  Resignations  became  frequent 
about  this  time.  The  number  of  the  members  of  the  board  was 
increased  to  seven.  There  was  no  improvement,  howevei",  in  the 
financial  results,  and  the  Assembly  of  1857  passed  a  resolution  to 
wind  the  business  up.  Thus  ends  the  first  period  of  the  board's 
history.  Its  assets  at  this  time,  as  reported  to  the  Assembly  of 
1858,  amounted  to  $4,913.88.  In  this  estimate,  however,  were  in- 
cluded notes  and  accounts  due  the  board,  amounting  to  $2,795.22, 
worth  not  more  than  fifty  cents  on  the  dollar.  The  remainder  of 
the  assets  consisted  of  plates,  books,  and  a  small  amount  of  cash. 
The  liabilities  amounted  to  $1,189,44.  The  actual  net  assets  were 
therefore  supposed  to  be  about  $1,310.00.      During  that  period 


Chapter  XLVII.]  PUBLICATION.  581 

there  had  been  published  about  thirty  thousand  volumes,  consist- 
ing largely  of  hymn  books  and  Confessions  of  Faith.  The  sales 
had  amounted  to  about  $11,000.  The  books  of  the  church  con- 
sisted of  the  Hymn  Book,  Social  Harp,  Confession  of  Faith,  the 
Manual,  Ewing's  Lectures,  Donnell's  Thoughts,  Guide  to  Infant 
Baptism,  Infant  Philosophy,  and  A  Commentary  on  the  Sixth 
Chapter  of  Hebrews. 

The  General  Assembly  of  1858,  which  convened  at  Huntsville, 
Alabama,  appointed  a  special  committee  on  publication,  including 
some  of  its  best  men.  They  were  Richard  Beard,  chairman,  R. 
Burrow,  M.  B.  Feemster,  H.  B.  Warren,  R.  L.  Caruthers,  A.  J. 
Baird,  Milton  Bird,  and  Isaac  Shook.  In  accordance  with  the 
recommendations  of  this  committee,  a  complete  re-organization  of 
the  publishing  work  of  the  church  took  place.  A  permanent 
"  Committee  of  Publication"  was  provided  for,  to  consist  of  three 
practical  business  men,  known  to  be  devoted  to  the  interests  of  the 
church,  and  "located  contiguous  to  each  other."  This  committee 
was  to  appoii:.t  a  general  agent,  and  require  him  to  give  bond.  It 
was  instructed  ' '  to  adopt  all  necessary  means ' '  to  raise  money,  ' '  by 
subscription  or  otherwise,"  to  carry  forward  the  work  of  publica- 
tion. The  agent  was  to  be  paid  a  sufficient  salary  to  justify  him 
in  giving  as  much  time  as  was  necessary  for  the  vigorous  prosecu- 
tion of  the  work.  The  committee  was  not  to  involve  itself  in  debt 
or  extend  its  business  beyond  the  means  under  its  control.  The 
members  were  to  be  subject  to  removal  by  the  General  Assembly. 
The  committee  was  to  have  power  to  fill  vacancies  in  its  mem- 
bership, occurring  between  the  meetings  of  the  Assembly,  subject 
to  the  confirmation  of  the  next  Assembly.  It  was  instructed  to 
secure  a  charter  of  incorporation.  Its  location  was  to  be  deter- 
mined by  a  committee  of  seven,  who  were  to  receive  propositions 
from  various  places  with  the  view  of  establishing  a  general  book 
depository  and  store,  and  ultimately,  if  the  prospects  should  justify, 
"a  house  of  publication."  The  men  appointed  to  constitute  this 
permanent  committee  were  Elder  Andrew  Allison,  the  Rev.  W.  E. 
Ward,  and  the  Rev.  Wiley  M.  Reed. 

The  committee  was  located  at  Nashville,  Tennessee,  and  the 
Rev.  Wiley  M.  Reed  was  chosen  its  chairman.     The  Rev.  W.  S. 


583  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.      [Period  vi. 

Ivaugdon  was  appointed  general  agent.  He  went  to  Louisville  and 
took  charge  of  the  assets.  All  the  stereotype  plates,  except  those 
of  the  catechism  were  lost  in  the  manner  stated  on  page  315  of  this 
history.  The  assets  removed  to  Nashville  consisted  of  the  plates 
of  the  catechism,  books  valued  at  $641,  and  notes  and  accounts, 
which,  after  paying  the  debts,  yielded  about  $900.  In  i860  the 
board  was  chartered  by  an  act  of  the  legislature  of  Tennessee. 
One  thousand  dollars  was  borrowed  to  publish  the  hymn  book, 
which  had  been  revised  by  a  committee  consisting  of  the  Rev.  A. 
J.  Baird,  the  Rev.  J.  C.  Provine,  and  Elder  N.  Green,  Jr.,  appointed 
by  the  Assembly  of  1858.  The  lenders  of  this  money  were  the 
Hon.  Robert  L.  Caruthers,  Judge  N.  Green,  Sr.,  the  Hon.  Horace 
H.  Harrison,  the  Rev.  Carson  P.  Reed,  John  Frizzell,  Esq.,  and 
others  whose  names  can  not  now  be  ascertained.  Most  of  the 
money  thus  loaned  was  subsequently  donated  to  the  board.  E. 
Waterhouse,  Sr.,  donated  the  money  with  which  the  Confession 
of  Faith  was  stereotyped. 

The  publishing  work  of  the  church  was  suspended  by  the  war 
till  1863,  when  it  was  transferred  to  Pittsburg,  Pennsylvania.  Of 
the  publishing  committee  appointed  at  that  place,  Joseph  Pennock 
was  made  chairman,  and  the  Rev.  S.  T.  Stewart,  the  publishing 
agent.  The  assets,  when  removed  from  Nashville,  amounted  to 
$5,892.25,  less  debts  amounting  to  $2,254.69.  A  new  committee 
was  appointed  in  1865,  consisting  of  the  Rev.  I.  N.  Car\',  the  Rev. 
S.  T.  Stewart,  and  Alexander  Postley.  The  business  was  for  a  time 
under  the  management  of  Mr.  Stewart.  The  printing  and  selling 
were  afterward  done  on  commission  by  Davis,  Clark  &  Co. ,  of  Pitts- 
burg. This  arrangement  was  continued  until  the  work  was  again 
transferred  to  Nashville.  This  was  done  b)'  order  of  the  Assembly 
which  met  at  Memphis,  in  1867.  The  Rev.  A.  J.  Baird,  the  Rev. 
L.  C.  Ransom,  and  Ruling  Elder  D.  C.  Love,  were  then  appointed 
the  members  of  the  board. 

The  Assembly  had  recommended  that  a  book  editor  and  pub- 
lishing agent  should  be  employed,  who  should  be  ex  officio  a  mem- 
ber of  the  board.  It  also  appropriated  to  the  publishing  work 
$2,460  from  the  interest  on  the  Finley  Bequest.  This,  added  to 
the    assets    received    from    Pittsburg,    made    the   total   resources 


Chapter  XLVIL]  PUBLICATION.  583 

$5,217.74.  The  Rev.  J.  C.  Provine,  D.D.,  was  chosen  book  editor 
and  publishing  agent.  The  receipts  from  sales  during  ten  months 
were  $6,971.24.  Although  the  General  Assembly  had  passed  a 
resolution  calling  the  attention  of  the  presbyteries  to  the  necessi- 
ties of  the  board,  and  requesting  them  to  have  collections  taken  up 
in  the  congregations  for  the  cause  of  publication,  yet  the  donations 
for  the  entire  year  amounted  to  only  twenty  dollars.  The  expendi- 
tures for  the  ten  months  were  just  equal  to  the  donations  and  the 
receipts  from  sales.  The  next  Assembly  re-adopted  the  "quarterly 
system"  of  collections.  During  the  following  year  only  thirty -five 
out  of  twelve  hundred  congregations  took  up  collections  for  the 
cause  of  publication — ten  of  them  in  Missouri,  and  nine  in  Tennes- 
see, and  not  exceeding  three  in  any  other  State.  The  total  dona- 
tions were  $391.75.  This,  with  the  receipts  from  sales,  amounted 
to  $9,807.13.  Thus  the  net  profit  for  the  year  was  a  little  more 
than  $380. 

The  report  of  the  board  to  the  Assembly  of  1869  set  forth  in 
appealing  terms  the  need  of  more  books  for  the  church,  and  the 
need  of  more  money  with  which  to  produce  them.  Attention  was 
called  to  the  board's  condition  of  absolute  dependence  on  other 
publishing  houses  for  its  printing.  The  Assembly  resolved  to  raise 
fifty  thousand  dollars  to  place  the  enterprise  on  a  firmer  and  broader 
basis.  It  also  increased  the  number  of  members  composing  the 
board  to  five.  In  1869,  Dr.  Provine  resigned  his  position,  and  W. 
E.  Dunaway  was  elected  publishing  agent.  The  report  to  the 
Assembly  of  1870  showed  a  marked  increase  in  donations,  sales, 
profits,  and  assets.  The  appointment  of  an  agent  to  raise  the  fifty 
thousand  dollars  was  recommended.  A  store  was  opened  January 
I,  1871,  for  the  purchase  and  sale  of  religious  and  literary  books,  in 
connection  with  the  sale  of  the  church's  own  publications.  Rev.  T. 
C.  Blake,  D.  D.,  was  employed  in  1871  as  financial  agent  to  raise  the 
fifty  thousand  dollars.  Exclusive  of  his  compensation  and  ex- 
penses, he  secured  $7,107.47.  By  permission  of  the  Assembly  of 
1873,  this  money,  with  accrued  interest,  was  used  for  the  purposes 
of  publication,  with  the  understanding  that  a  certain  portion,  sup- 
posed to  have  been  contributed  expressly  to  build  or  buy  a  publish- 
ing house,  should  be  appropriated,  with  interest,  to  that  purpose, 


584  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  vi. 

whenever  a  sufficient  sum  was  secured.     The  treasurer  still  holds 
the  agent's  notes  for  the  same. 

In  August,  1872,  the  Rev.  M.  B.  DeWitt,  D.D.,  was  made 
soliciting  agent  and  book  editor,  and  became  editor  of  the  Sunday- 
school  periodicals,  and  of  the  Theological  Medium.  He  continued 
his  editorial  work  in  these  several  departments  until  the  fall  of 
1879,  when  he  resigned,  and  other  arrangements  were  made. 

During  the  year  1872  the  board  purchased  of  Dr.  T.  C.  Blake 
the  Sunday-school  Gem  and  the  Theological  Medium  for  $2,500, 
the  board  filling  out  the  unexpired  subscriptions  of  each.  As  early 
as  1851  a  memorial  from  IVIackinaw  Presbytery  had  called  the  at- 
tention of  the  General  Assembly  to  the  necessity  for  a  Sunday- 
school  paper,  and  of  a  missionary  paper.  The  committee  on  pub- 
lication to  whom  the  memorial  was  referred,  reported  favorably, 
but  the  whole  subject  was  referred  to  the  next  Assembly.  When 
the  next  Assembly  met,  no  action  was  taken  in  regard  to  this  mat- 
ter. The  Gem  had  when  purchased  15,000  subscribers,  and  the 
Medium  1,180.  The  number  of  subscribers  to  the  latter  dimin- 
ished during  the  succeeding  year  to  525,  and  in  1879  it  had  ceased 
to  be  self-sustaining.  Then  the  board,  by  order  of  the  Assembly, 
filled  out  its  unexpired  subscriptions  and  donated  this  quarterly  to 
the  theological  faculty  of  Cumberland  University.  The  subscrip- 
tions to  the  Ge7n  increased  during  the  year  1873  to  24,000.  Its 
patronage  has  since  been  divided  with  Our  Lambs^  the  publication 
of  which  was  commenced  by  the  board  in  1877,  ^^^^  both  together 
have  now  (1887)  a  circulation  of  about  35,000. 

Prior  to  1874  the  church  never  owned  a  newspaper.  Once,  on 
condition  of  being  allowed  to  appoint  the  editors,  it  made  a  private 
newspaper  its  organ,  but  left  the  ownership  still  in  private  hands. 
After  a  very  unsatisfactory  experience  in  pursuing  this  plan,  the 
whole  newspaper  business  was  again  left  to  pri\'ate  enterprise. 
Several  evils,  however,  seemed  to  be  inseparable  from  this  s}-stem 
of  independent  church  journalism.  At  some  periods  newspapers 
multiplied  beyond  the  prospect  of  support,  and  their  quality  often 
deteriorated  in  proportion  to  the  increase  of  their  number.  There 
were  frequent  controversies  and  rivalries  among  them,  and  at  times 
some   of  them  were   arrayed   against   leading  enterprises   of  the 


Chapter  XL VII.]  PUBLICATION.  585 

church.  Owing  to  lack  of  financial  support,  however,  man}'  of 
these  publications  were  short-lived,  and  it  happened  not  infre- 
quently that  two  or  more  of  them  were  forced  to  consolidate. 

In  the  Assembly  of  1852,  the  Rev.  J.  N.  Roach  read  a  paper  on 
the  subject  of  a  religious  journal  under  the  control  of  the  Assembly. 

The  Assembly  of  1858  adopted  a  resolution  favoring  a  consol- 
idation of  all  the  church  papers  owned  and  published  by  individu- 
als. In  1868  a  memorial  from  Princeton  Presbytery  was  presented 
to  the  Assembly,  asking  that  the  Board  of  Publication  should  be 
directed  to  begin  the  publication  of  a  religious  journal  for  the 
church.  The  report  of  the  Committee  on  Publication,  adopted  by 
the  Assembly,  approved  the  proposed  step,  but  did  not  recommend 
immediate  action  because  of  the  board's  lack  of  money.  Another 
memorial  on  this  subject  was  presented  to  the  Assembly  of  1873 
by  Bell  Presbytery,  and,  in  its  report  to  that  Assembly,  the  board 
expressed  the  opinion  that  an  effort  should  be  made  to  bring  about 
a  consolidation  of  the  existing  newspapers.  The  report  of  the 
Committee  on  Publication,  adopted  by  the  Assembly,  favored  the 
measure,  setting  forth  the  reasons  therefor  at  considerable  length. 
Expressing  a  desire  that  the  church  should  not  enter  into  competi- 
tion with  the  owners  of  the  existing  papers,  it  recommended  that 
the  board  should  be  "instructed  to  negotiate  with  them,  and,  if 
possible,  procure  their  interests  in  their  respective  publications  at 
reasonable  rates. ' ' 

To  the  Assembly  of  1874  the  board  reported  that  it  had  been 
found  impracticable  at  that  time  to  purchase  the  papers  then  in 
existence.  That  Assembly  adopted  a  report,  which  said:  "It  is  the 
sense  of  this  General  Assembly  that  fair  terms  should  be  offered  to 
the  proprietors  of  the  present  weekly  church  papers,  not  to  be  less 
than  the  estimate  fixed  by  disinterested  parties  mutually  chosen, 
and  should  the  terms  thus  offered  be  not  accepted,  the  board  will 
report  to  the  next  General  Assembly  its  views  on  the  propriety  of 
establishing  a  weekly  newspaper  for  the  church."  The  owners  of 
the  Banner  of  Peace  and  Cimiberland  Presbyterian  declined  to 
submit  their  property  to  the  valuation  of  disinterested  parties, 
stating  that  the  property  was  not  for  sale.  By  private  negotiation, 
however,  in  the  fall  of  1874,  "the  good  will"  of  the  Banner  of 


586  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  vi. 

Peace  was  purchased  by  the  board  from  the  Rev.  S.  P.  Chesnut, 
D.D.,  for  ten  thousand  dollars.  Soon  afterward,  the  board  pur- 
chased of  Brown  &  Perrin  the  good-will  of  the  Cumberland  Pres- 
byterian^ together  with  a  printing  press  and  other  machiner)-,  for 
thirteen  thousand  dollars.  The  machinery  was  supposed  to  be 
worth  about  three  thousand  dollars.  The  good-will  of  the  Texas 
Cnniberland  Presbyterian  was  purchased  of  the  Rev.  J.  H.  Wofford 
for  twenty-five  hundred  dollars. 

All  the  papers  were  consolidated  at  Nashville,  Tennessee,  at  the 
total  cost  of  ^25,500,  the  Board  of  Publication  agreeing  to  fill 
out  the  unexpired  subscriptions  of-  the  three  papers.  The  consol- 
idated paper  was  first  called  the  Banner-Presbyteria7i^  but  the 
name  proved  unsatisfactory,  and  was  changed  to  the  Ctimberland 
Presbyterian.  Rev.  J.  R.  Brown,  D.  D. ,  was  chosen  sole  editor,  and 
continued  in  that  position  till  July  ist,  1883,  when  Rev.  D.  M. 
Harris,  D.D.,  was  made  joint  editor.  Dr.  Brown's  connection  with 
the  paper  ceased  April  ist,  1885,  when  Dr.  Harris  was  made  editor 
in  chief.  The  Rev.  J.  M.  Howard,  D.D.,  at  this  time  became  asso- 
ciate editor  of  the  Ciunberland  Presbyterian  and  book  editor. 

After  the  purchase  of  the  three  weekly  papers,  the  former  owner 
of  one  of  them,  and  one  of  the  joint  owners  of  another,  became 
interested  in  the  publication  at  the  same  places  of  papers  similar  in 
character  to  those  sold.  It  was  contended  that  such  action  not 
only  involved  disloyalty  to  the  church,  but  also  impaired  the  "good- 
will "  purchased  by  the  board,  and  was  in  violation  of  the  contract. 
These  questions  gave  rise  to  extended  discussion  in  the  church,  and 
to  deliverances  by  four  General  Assemblies,  What  principles, 
if  any,  are  settled  by  these  deliverances,  it  would  perhaps  be  un- 
profitable now  to  discuss. 

The  subscriptions  to  the  papers,  when  consolidated,  amounted 
to  about  seven  thousand  five  hundred.  The  consolidated  paper 
now  has  a  circulation  of  about  fifteen  thousand.  The  price  of 
the  consolidated  paper  is  two  dollars.  It  furnishes  about  twice  as 
much  reading  matter  as  any  one  of  its  predecessors.  It  has  grown 
steadily  in  influence  and  usefulness.  Thus  the  church  has  one  large 
weekly  to  which  all  our  people  can  justly  look  with  satisfaction — 
strong,  able,  and  under  the  church's  own  control. 


Chapter  XLVII.]  PUBLICATION.  587 

In  1874  the  board  began  the  publication  of  a  monthly  journal 
Sunday  Mornings  for  the  use  of  Sunday-school  teachers,  officers 
and  advanced  pupils.     It  attained  a  circulation  of  about  twenty- 
eight  hundred,  but  from  considerations  of  economy  was  discontin- 
ued in  1879.     It  was  followed  in  the  same  year  by  The  Com7nents 
a  Sunday-school  quarterly,  and  in  1885  a  quarterly  of  lower  grade 
was  commenced,  called   The  Rays  of  Light.     These  two  publica- 
tions have  now  a  combined  circulation  of  about  thirty-five  thou- 
sand. 

Since  1879  Rev.  R.  V.  Foster,  D.D.,  has  been  the  editor,  except 
during  a  short  interval,  of  the  Commcnis^  Rays  of  Light  ^  and  Lesson 
Leaf  He  was  also  the  editor  of  the  Gem  and  Onr  Lambs  until 
July,  1883,  when  they  were  committed  to  the  editorial  manage- 
ment of  Mrs.  Caroline  M.  Harris. 

Mr.  W.  E.  Dunaway  was  business  manager  of  the  board  from 
1870  to  the  latter  part  of  1874,  when  he  resigned  and  was  siicceed- 
ed  by  Rev.  T.  C.  Blake,  D.D.,  who  filled  this  position  until  failing 
health  compelled  his  resignation  in  October,  1878.  November  i, 
1878,  John  M.  Gaut  was  made  corresponding  secretary,  and,  at 
the  request  of  the  board,  took  temporary  charge  of  the  business, 
exercising  a  supervisory  control  over  it.  He  continued  in  this 
position  till  December  i,  1880,  when  T.  M.  Hurst  was  appointed 
agent  and  business  manager.  Mr.  Hurst's  resignation  took  place 
May,  1886,  at  which  time  John  D.  Wilson  was  elected  agent. 

The  assets  of  the  board  gradually  increased  from  $5,217,  in  July, 
1867,  to  $81,879.05,  May  I,  1887.  Their  valuation  approached 
this  latter  sum  during  some  of  the  previous  years,  but,  as  was  after- 
ward ascertained,  they  were  largely  overvalued.  The  liabilities 
also  increased  from  nothing  in  1867,  to  $12,390.53  in  1887,  having 
at  times  during  the  intervening  years  been  larger  than  that.  The 
indebtedness  in  1879  was  so  great  and  the  receipts  so  small  that 
the  board  was  very  seriously  embarrassed.  Without  the  individual 
credit  of  several  members  of  the  board  freely  extended  for  several 
years,  it  would  have  been  difficult,  if  not  impossible,  to  have 
averted  a  suspension  of  business.  An  extension  of  time  had  to 
be  asked  of  its  creditors,  a  general  retrenchment  of  expenses 
was  made,  and  its  income  largely  increased  by  an  increase  in  the 


588  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  vi. 

subscribers  to  the  periodicals.  In  this  way  the  house  was  greatly 
relieved.  A  large  burden  of  debt  continued  upon  it,  however, 
till  1884,  when  the  church  by  donations  in  sums  of  ten  dollars, 
in  response  to  what  was  known  as  "the  Uncle  Josh  Proposition," 
generously  contributed  upward  of  ten  thousand  dollars  to  pay  oflf 
the  indebtedness.  The  originator  of  this  proposition  was  Mr. 
Joshua  D.  Spain,  of  Nashville. 

Since  1867  the  books  published  by  the  board  have  increased 
about  threefold,  and  a  large  number  of  valuable  pamphlets  have 
been  issued. 

It  is  curious  to  note  how  long  the  church  has  been  in  realizing 
its  desire  for  certain  publications.  A  committee  was  appointed 
in  1824  to  collect  materials  for  a  history  of  the  Cumberland 
Presbyterian  Church.  In  1847  the  General  Assembly  resolved  to 
have  such  a  history  written,  and  a  committee  was  appointed  to 
do  this  work.  In  1848  this  committee  reported  progress.  The 
necessity  for  such  a  history  was  urged  in  the  report  of  the  Board 
of  Publication  in  1850.  The  Rev.  H.  S.  Porter,  D.D.,  of  Memphis, 
Tennessee,  began  the  writing  of  the  church's  history,  but  died  be- 
fore the  work  was  finished.  In  1856  his  widow  tendered  to  the 
General  Assembly  his  incomplete  manuscript  and  the  papers  which 
he  had  collected.  The  donation  was  accepted  and  a  committee 
appointed  to  engage  a  competent  person  to  complete  the  work. 
Then  the  enterprise  seems  to  have  slumbered.  In  1884 — sixty 
}'ears  after  the  initial  effort — the  board  took  the  step  of  which  this 
volume  is  the  result. 

The  Assembly  of  1852  appointed  Rev.  Milton  Bird  to  prepare 
for  publication  "a  copious  abstract"  of  the  Minutes  of  the  Coun- 
cil, of  Old  Cumberland  Presbytery,  of  New  Cumberland  Presb}'ter\^, 
of  Cumberland  Synod,  and  of  the  several  General  Assemblies  from 
the  first  to  that  date;  and  the  Board  of  Publication  was  authorized 
to  publish  the  same.  This  abstract  was  prepared  and  is  still  in 
existence.  Why  it  was  not  published  is  not  known.  In  1858  the 
stated  clerk  was  requested  to  publish  an  abstract  or  digest  of  these 
records;  and  the  next  Assembly  by  resolution  inquired  what  he  had 
done  toward  complying  with  this  request.  In  1869  a  resolution 
was  adopted,  recommending  that  the  Board  of  Publication  should 


Chapter  XLVII.]  PUBLICATION.  589 

have  a  digest  01  the  Assembly's  deliverances  prepared  and  pub- 
lished as  soon  as  practicable.  A  subsequent  Assembly  appointed 
the  board  and  the  stated  clerk  to  do  this  work.  The  stated  clerk, 
Hon.  John  Frizzell,  prepared  such  a  digest,  and  the  Assembly  of 
1878  appointed  a  committee  to  review  it,  and  ordered  its  publica- 
tion if  it  was  approved.  The  Assembly  of  1885  appointed  another 
committee  to  take  this  matter  in  hand.  This  committee  reported 
in  1886,  when  the  whole  subject  was  referred  to  the  next  Assembly. 
That  Assembly  appointed  the  Hon.  John  Frizzell  to  complete  the 
work,  and  it  will  doubtless  be  ready  for  the  press  early  in  1888. 

The  preparation  of  a  hymn  and  tune  book  was  recommended 
by  the  Assembly  of  1869.  The  manuscript  of  such  a  work  was 
presented  to  the  Assembly  of  1870  and  referred  to  the  Board  of 
Publication.  The  board,  fearing  that  the  selections  were  not 
adapted  to  the  wants  of  the  church  deferred  publishing  the  book. 
In  1873  the  Assembly  again  expressed  itself  in  favor  of  such  a 
publication.  In  that  year  the  Rev.  A.  J.  Baird,  D.D.,  of  Nashville, 
proposed  to  undertake  the  compilation  of  such  a  work,  asking 
as  his  only  compensation  that  the  board  should  furnish  his  church 
with  a  supply  of  the  books.  The  proposition  was  accepted,  and 
after  many  months  of  painstaking  labor,  his  manuscript  was 
ready  to  be  presented  to  the  General  Assembly  of  1874.  By  this 
General  Assem.bly  it  was  referred  to  a  committee  for  examination. 
It  was  slightly  amended  by  this  committee,  and  abridged  by  the 
author.  Then  the  revised  manuscript  was  approved  by  the  Assem- 
bly of  1875,  and  the  first  edition  of  the  work  was  published  by  the 
board  in  1876. 

The  long,  faithful,  and  arduous  labors  of  one  of  the  late  hon- 
ored presidents  of  the  board,  the  Rev.  W.  E.  Ward,  D.D.',  deserve 
special  mention.  From  1858  to  1879,  excepting  the  years  when 
the  Pittsburg  committee  was  in  charge,  he  taxed  an  already  over- 
burdened heart  and  brain  with  the  additional  cares  and  responsi- 
bilities of  this  struggling  institution. 

The  following  list  contains  the  names  of  all  who  have  ever 
served  as  members  of  the  board  or  the  Committee  of  Publication, 
and  shows,  with  approximate  accuracy,  the  time  of  each  member's 
service.     Except  in  a  few  instances,  it  has  been  found  impossible 


590 


Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  vi. 


to  ascertain  exact  dates.  Most  of  the  dates  here  indicated  show 
when  the  several  elections,  resignations,  or  deaths  are  first  men- 
tioned in  the  board's  annual  reports. 


Rev.  Milton  Rinl 

Ilev.  Lillian  Jones 

F.  K.  McLean 

A.M.  Phelps 

James  L.  iStratton 

Rev.  S.  M.  Aston... 

Rev.  S.  B.  Howard 

E.  0.  Trimble 

Charles  Miller 

Rev.  B.  Hall 

Rev.  F.  G.  Black 

Rev.  Lc  Key  Woods 

A.  F.  Vox 

Rev.  Caleb  VVeedip 

F.  P.  Dotheridsc 

P.  N.  Frederick 

Andrew  Allison  

Rev.  W.  K.  Ward 

Rev.  W.  F.  Ward 

Rev.  Wiley  M.  Heed 

Joseph  Penuock 

Rev.  S.  T.  Stewart 

Samuel  Morrow 

Alexander  Postley 

T.  C.  Leazear 

Rev.  I.  N.  Gary 

Edward  De  Barrenne 

Itev.  A.J.  Baird 

Rev.  L.  C.  Ransom 

David  C.  Lovo 

,Tohn  Frizzell 

Terry  H.  Cahal 

John  M.  Gaut 

W.  C.  Smith f. 

Wni.  Porter 

P.  H.  Manlove 

R.  L.  Caruthers,  Jr 

Travis  Winham 

W.  F.  Ni.sbet 

Thos.  W.  Campbell 

E.  Waterliouse 

Rev.  R.  M.  Tinnon 

Isa<ae  T.  Rhea 

Rev.  J.  P.  Sprowls 

John  H.  Reynolds 

Rev.  W.  J.  Darby 

Rev.  J.  C  Provine 

II.  Parks,  .1r 

W.  T.  Baird 


rom  1847  to  lS.5o 

"      \sn  to .; 

"      18l7  to  185-1 

"      1^47  to  1852 

"      1847  to          

"      to  1851  or  1852 

"      1851  or  1-52  to  1856 

"      1852  to  1857 

"      1854  to  1858 

"      1855  to  1856 

"      1856  to  18.58 

"      1856  10  1858 

"      1856  to  1857 

"      1856  to  18.58 

"      1857  to  1858 

"      1857  to    858 

"      1858  to  1862 

"      1858  to  1862 

"      1867  to  187y 

"      18.58  to  1862 

"      1862  to  1865 

"      1862  to  1867 

"      1862  to  1865 

"      1862  to  1867 

"      1862  to  1865 

"      1865  to  1867 

1867 

"      1867  to  1870 

"       1867  to  1867 

"      1867  to  1874 

"      1869  to  1881.., 

Vice-president  and  President. 

President,  Treas.,  Cor.  Sec. 
Secretary. 

"      1870  to  1872.. 
"      1870— now  a 
"      1872  to  1880.. 

member. 

"      1874  to  1876 

"      1876— now  a 
"      187'.)  to  ISSl 

member. 

Secretary. 
Secretary. 

"      1879  to  1883 

"      1881  to  1886 

"      1881  to  1887 

"      1881  to  1885 

"      1882tol8S4 

"      188.3  to  1887 

Secretary. 

"      1884  to  1886.. 
"      1886— now  a 
"      1887—    " 
"      1887—    •' 
"      1887—    " 
"      1887—    " 

member. 

Secretary. 
Secretary. 

NEWSPAPERS. 

The  church's  first  paper,  as  has  been  seen,  was  the  Religious 
and  Literary  Intelligencer.  Its  publication  was  begun  by  Cossitt 
&  Lowry,  at  Princeton,  Ky. ,  early  in  1830.  It  was  moved  to 
Nashville  in  1832,  and  its  name  changed  to  the  Revivalist.  In 
1834  its  name  was  changed  to  the  Cumbei'land  Presbyterian.  In 
1839  its  publication,  after  a  brief  suspension,  was  resumed  at 
Springfield,  Tennessee,  where  it  expired  in  May,  1840.  Its  editors 
from  first  to  last  were  F.  R.  Cossitt,  David  Lown.',  and  James 
Smith;  assistants,  T.  C.  Anderson  and  John  W.  Ogden. 


Chapter  XLVII.]  NEWSPAPERS.  59I 

The  Banner  of  Peace — 1S40  to  1S74. 

In  March  1840,  Dr.  Cossitt,  at  Princeton,  Kentucky,  began  the 
issue  of  a  monthly  pamphlet  with  this  title.  It  was  removed  to 
Lebanon,  Tennessee,  January,  1843.  Soon  after  this  it  was  changed 
to  a  weekly.  In  1850  the  Rev.  W.  D.  Chadick,  D.D.,  bought  this 
paper  and  continued  its  publication  at  Lebanon,  at  the  same  time 
purchasing  and  consolidating  with  it  The  Ark^  a  monthly,  hitherto 
published  at  Athens,  Tennessee,  by  Rev.  Robert  Frazier.  Then  he 
took  Rev.  David  Lowry  into  partnership,  both  as  proprietor  and 
editor.  He  and  Lowry  sold  the  Banner  of  Peace  to  the  Rev.  Isaac 
Shook  and  the  Rev.  J.  C.  Provine.  The  paper  was  then  moved  to 
Nashville,  where  it  remained  till  it  was  absorbed  by  the  consol- 
idated paper  in  1874.  Its  succession  of  editors,  after  its  removal  to 
Nashville,  was  as  follows:  J.  C.  Provine,  W.  S.  Langdon,  W.  E. 
Ward,  J.  C.  Provine,  J.  M.  Halsell,  T.  C.  Blake,  S.  P.  Chesnut. 
Some  of  the  articles  which  appeared  in  the  Banner  of  Peace  were 
afterward  collected  and  published  in  book  form.  Mahlon's  Let- 
ters, by  Dr.  A.  J.  Baird,  is  one  example.  Others  might  well  have 
been  preserved  in  a  similar  manner. 

Church  Papers  in  Pennsylvania. 
A  Cumberland  Presbyterian  newspaper  was  started  in  Pennsyl- 
vania before  John  Morgan  began  the  publication  of  the  Union  and 
Evangelist^  but  no  record  of  its  name  or  its  work  has  been  found. 
It  is  alluded  to  sarcastically  by  Smith  in  his  editorials.  It  ran  a 
very  brief  course.  In  1840  the  Union  and  Evangelist  began  its 
career  at  Uniontown,  Pennsylvania.  After  some  time  the  Rev.  J. 
P.  Weethee  became  assistant  editor.  The  next  year  Morgan  died, 
and  Milton  Bird  continued  the  publication  for  a  short  time  at 
Uniontown.  He  then  moved  his  paper  to  Pittsburg,  Pennsylvania, 
and  changed  its  name  to  the  Evangelist  and  Observer.  In  1846 
we  find  the  paper  back  at  Uniontown,  and  its  name  changed  to 
The  Cumberland  Presbyterian.  Afterward  the  Rev.  A.  B.  Brice 
became  associate  editor  along  with  Bird.  In  1847  Brice  bought 
out  Bird's  interest,  and  continued  to  publish  the  paper  at  Union- 
town  till  1850.  Then  he  removed  to  Brownsville  and  associated 
the  Rev.  J.  T.  A.  Henderson  with  himself  in  the  editorial  work. 


592  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  vi. 

In  1857  the  Rev.  William  Campbell  was  editor,  and  in  i860  the 
paper  was  issued  from  Waynesburg.  In  1863  we  find  the  name  of 
the  Rev.  A.  B.  Miller,  D.  D.,  as  editor,  and  after  a  while  the  name 
of  Azel  Freeman,  associated  with  Dr.  Miller's. 

In  November,  1868,  Dr.  ]\Iiller  sold  out  his  subscription  list  to 
Dr.  J.  B.  Logan,  of  Illinois,  and  Pennsylvania  for  more  than  eight 
years  had  no  Cumberland  Presbyterian  paper.  In  May,  1877,  at 
Pittsburg,  Pennsylvania,  the  Rev.  Philip  Axtell  began  the  publi- 
cation of  The  Religioits  Pantagraph^  a  large  weekly.  It  was  con- 
tinued until  November,  1878,  when  its  subscription  list,  which  had 
reached  eleven  hundred,  was  transferred  to  the  St.  Louis  Observer. 
During  a  part  of  the  year  1881,  a  small  monthly,  the  Semi-Centen- 
nial.^ was  issued  at  Pittsburg  by  IMr.  Axtell,  but  its  publication  was 
suspended  before  the  year  closed. 

The  Cumberland  Presbyterian  Pulpit. 

This  was  a  monthly  devoted  to  the  publication  of  sermons. 
The  first  number  was  issued  at  Nashville,  Tennessee,  in  January, 
1833,  by  the  Rev.  James  Smith.  The  first  volume  contains  three 
sermons  from  Finis  Kwing:  one  on  the  atonement,  one  against 
slavery,  and  one  on  Christian  union;  two  sermons  each  from  David 
Lowry,  Robert  Donnell,  and  Abner  McDowell;  and  one  each  from 
Hiram  A.  Hunter,  James  Guthrie,  George  Donnell,  William  Ral- 
ston, Laban  Jones,  David  Foster,  Isaac  Shook,  David  Morrow, 
John  W.  Ogden,  James  Smith,  Richard  Beard,  A.  G.  Gibson, 
Robert  Sloane,  J.  L.  Dillard,  David  M.  Kirkpatrick,  Alexander 
Anderson,  and  C.  P.  Reed.  One  of  the  sermons  furnished  by 
Robert  Donnell  was  preached  at  the  Rev.  William  ]\IcGee's  funeral, 
and  the  one  contributed  by  John  W.  Ogden,  was  preached  at  the 
funeral  of  the  Rev.  William  Barnett.  Richard  Beard's  contribution 
was  a  sermon  on  The  Church.     It  abounds  in  poetical  quotations. 

These  sermons  show  what  was  the  character  of  the  preaching  in 
Cumberland  Presbyterian  pulpits  during  the  first  two  decades  of 
the  church's  histor}\  In  all  of  them  there  is  the  utmost  plainness 
and  directness  of  manner.  Reading  them  reminds  us  of  Moody 
and  his  stirring  appeals  to  sinners.  In  Donnell' s  sermon,  preached 
at  the  funeral  of  William  McGee,  we  are  told  that  there  were  conver- 
sions under  almost  every  sermon  that  IMcGee  ever  preached.     That 


Chapter  XLVII.]  NEWSPAPERS.  593 

statement  calls  up  a  remark  which  the  writer,  when  only  a  child, 
heard  Robert, Donnell  make  to  the  Rev.  Samuel  McSpeddin.  He 
used  something  like  these  words:  "Brother  McSpeddin,  there  is 
something  wrong.  I  have  now  preached  two  sermons  in  succession 
without  witnessing  one  single  conversion."  How  many  sermons 
in  succession  do  our  preachers  now  deliver  without  witnessing  a 
conversion  ?  How  many  preach  without  either  expecting  or  pray- 
ing for  conversions  ?  Some  have  set  times  in  the  future,  and  look 
forward  to  the  protracted  meeting  season,  when  they  expect  and 
pray  for  conversions;  and  they  grind  their  ecclesiastical  organs  to 
entertain  and  hold  their  congregations  together  the  rest  of  the 
year. 

The  Ark — 1S41  to  1S50. 
In  September,  1841,  the  Rev.  Robert  Frazier  began  the  publi- 
cation of  The  Ark^  at  Athens,  Tennessee.  This  was  a  monthly. 
It  at  first  had  three  special  departments:  i.  Doctrinal,  2.  Eccle- 
siastical, 3.  Moral.  An  historical  department  was  afterward  added. 
One  thing  might  have  been  safely  predicted  in  advance  of  all  Fra- 
zier's  editorials.  He  would  run  in  no  ruts.  He  called  no  man 
master.  There  was  a  boldness  and  vigor  about  his  writings  which 
constituted  their  chief  charm.  Oftener  wrong,  perhaps,  than  right 
in  the  positions  he  took,  it  is  manifest  at  least  that  he  wa«  honest 
and  thoroughly  in  earnest  in  all  these  positions.  He  was  fearless, 
too,  attacking  every  thing  in  the  chitrch  which  he  believed  to  be 
wrong.  His  paper  earnestly  advocated  the  divorce  of  the  church 
courts  from  all  secular  enterprises. 

The  Texas  Presbyterian. 

In  November,  1846,  the  Rev.  A.  J.  McGown  issued  the  first 
number  of  this  paper  at  Victoria,  Texas.  It  was  a  large  four-page 
weekly.  Its  location  was  several  times  changed.  After  publishing 
this  paper  nine  years  as  a  private  enterprise,  he  tried  to  induce  his 
synod  to  take  charge  of  it.  In  this,  however,  he  was  not  success- 
ful, and  so  he  continued  to  plead  for  the  interests  of  the  Texas 
churches  in  its  columns.  Not  only  was  the  paper  valuable  to  the 
local  interests,  but  some  of  the  best  materials  for  a  history  of  the 
jDrogress  of  the  church  in  other  fields  have  been  gathered  from  arti- 
cles published  in  it.  It  is  asserted  by  some  that  this  was  the  first 
38 


594  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  vi. 

Protestant  newspaper  ever  published  on  Texas  soil.  McGown  and 
his  paper  received  strong  commendations  from  mem.bers  of  other 
churches,  from  old  soldiers  of  San  Jacinto,  and  from  authors  of 
stately  volumes. 

Texas  Cumberland  Presbyterian — Texas  Observer. 

The  Texas  Cumberlattd  Presbyterian  was  not  the  same  paper 
McGown  edited,  but  a  new  enterprise,  undertaken  after  his  death. 
Its  publication  was  begun  by  Rev.  J.  B.  Renfro  and  Rev.  J.  H. 
Wofford,  at  Tehuacana,  April,  1873,  and  it  was  continued  until  the 
Assembly's  consolidation  scheme  absorbed  all  the  private  news- 
papers of  the  cliurch.  The  sale  of  this  paper  to  the  church  was 
accomplished  in  December,  1874.  Wofford  had  previously  bought 
out  Renfro' s  interest.  In  1879  Mr.  Wofford  began  the  publication 
of  a  new  paper,  the  Texas  Observer^  at  Tehuacana.  This  paper 
has  changed  owners  and  editors  several  times,  and  the  place  of 
publication  has  also  been  frequently  changed.  It  is  now  issued  as 
the  organ  of  Trinity  University  by  a  stock  company.  Under  this 
arrangement  Dr.  E.  B.  Crisman  and  the  Rev.  J.  S.  Groves  were 
until  recently  the  editors.  The  Rev.  W.  B.  Preston  has  lately  be- 
come editor.  Its  name  has  been  changed  to  the  Texas  Climber- 
land  Presbyterian. 

The  Watchman  and  Evangelist — 1850  to  1859. 

Milton  Bird,  after  he  sold  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian^  at 
Uniontown,  Pennsylvania,  to  the  Rev.  A.  B.  Brice,  moved  to  Louis- 
ville, Kentucky,  and,  in  1850,  started  the  Watchman  and  Evan- 
gelist there.  After  several  changes  of  editors,  this  paper  was,  in 
1859,  consolidated  with  the  Missouri  Cicmberland  Presbyterian^ 
and  moved  to  St.  Louis. 

Papers  in  Missouri  and  Illinois. 

St.  Louis,  Missouri,  and  Alton,  Illinois,  have  for  a  long  time 
jointly  constituted  an  important  newspaper  center  for  our  people. 
In  May,  1852,  at  the  earnest  solicitation  of  a  number  of  Missouri 
ministers  and  leading  laymen,  the  Rev.  J.  B.  Logan  began  the 
publication  of  the  Missouri  Cinnberland  Presbyterian  at  Lexing- 
ton, Missouri.  He  had  the  promise  of  five  hundred  subscribers  to 
begin  with,  and  the  list  was  to  be  increased  to  one  thousand  by  the 


Chapter  XL VII.]  NEWSPAPERS.  595 

close  of  the  year;  but  he  began  with  three  hundred.  In  a  year  he 
moved  the  paper  to  St.  Louis.  In  1858  or  1859  ^^i^  Watchman  and 
Evangelist^  published  at  Louisville  by  A.  F.  Cox,  and  edited  by 
the  Rev.  Milton  Bird,  D.  D. ,  was  united  with  the  Missouri  Cuni- 
berlajtd  Presbyterian^  and  the  consolidated  paper  was  called  the 
St.  Louis  Observer.  Dr.  Bird  was  for  a  time  its  editor.  Mr.  Cox 
afterward  bought  this  paper.  About  the  beginning  of  the  war  the 
list  was  sold  to  the  Ctunberla7id  Presbyterian^  then  published  at 
Waynesburg,  Pennsylvania. 

About  1 86 1  the  Rev.  J.  B.  Logan  began  the  publication  of  the 
Western  Cumberland  Presbyterian^  at  Alton,  Illinois.  It  was 
continued  under  this  name  until  November,  1868,  when  it  became 
the  Cumberland  Presbyterian^  its  proprietor  having  purchased 
from  Dr.  A.  B.  Miller,  of  Waynesburg,  Pennsylvania,  the  paper 
bearing  this  latter  title.  The  Rev.  J.  R.  Brown  became  joint 
editor  and  also  joint  projorietor  of  this  consolidated  paper.  In  1874 
it  was  sold  to  the  Board  of  Publication  by  Brown  and  Perrin,  and 
removed  to  Nashville,  Tennessee. 

In  September,  1875,  the  publication  of  Our  Faith  was  begun 
at  Alton.  This  was  a  monthly,  and  the  Rev.  J.  B.  Logan,  D.  D. , 
was  its  editor.  It  was  continued  about  a  year  and  a  half,  when  it 
was  merged  into  the  St.  Louis  Observer.  The  latter  was  a  weekly 
paper,  and  the  Rev.  W.  B.  Farr,  D.  D. ,  was  made  its  editor.  The 
Rev.  W.  C.  Logan  afterward  became  associate  editor.  Mr.  Logan 
and  the  Rev.  J.  R.  Brown,  D.D.,  are  its  present  editors. 

The  Ladies'  Pearl — 1S52  to    1S84. 

This  was  a  monthly  magazine  for  women.  Its  publication  was 
commenced  at  Nashville,  Tennessee,  by  W.  S.  Langdon  and  J.  C. 
Provine,  in  1852.  It  was  the  testimony  of  Dr.  Herschel  S.  Porter 
that  this  magazine  did  more  to  develop  the  talents  of  the  women 
of  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  Church  than  all  other  agencies 
put  together.  Hosts  of  sprightly  writers  were  called  out  who  knew 
nothing  of  their  own  powers  till  the  Pearl  developed  them.  J.  B. 
Logan,  J.  R.  Brown,  John  Shirley  Ward,  J.  M.  Halsell,  and  S.  P. 
Chesnut  were  all  at  one  time  or  another  editors  of  this  magazine. 
Dr.  Chesnut  finally  sold  it,  and  Cumberland  Presbyterians  ceased 
to  have  any  periodical  specially  for  ladies. 


596  Cumberland  Presbyterian  Histor.y.       [Period  vi. 

The  Pacific  Observkr. 

In  i860,  at  Alamo,  California,  the  Rev.  T.  M.  Johnston  started 
the  first  Cumberland  Presbyterian  paper  on  the  Pacific  coast.  It 
was  first  called  The  Presbyter^  afterward  The  Pacific  Observer.  At 
first  it  was  issued  monthly,  but  was  soon  changed  to  a  weekly.  It 
was  removed  to  Stockton,  and  was  of  good  size  and  well  printed. 
The  subscription  price  was  four  dollars  a  year.  The  isolated  con- 
dition of  our  feeble  churches  in  California  gave  a  poor  prospect  for 
sufficient  patronage  to  sustain  such  a  paper;  but  Johnston  perse- 
vered, though  at  a  heavy  pecuniary  loss.  He  felt  that  the  paper 
was  a  necessity  to  the  church  in  that  country;  and  he  spared 
neither  toil  nor  money  in  the  struggle  to  meet  the  pressing  de- 
mand. An  editorial  in  the  Baniier  of  Peace  commended  this  Cal- 
ifornia paper  and  its  self-sacrificing  editor  in  these  words: 

One  of  our  best  exchanges  is  the  Pacific  Observer,  edited  by  Rev. 
T.  M.  Johnston,  Stockton,  California.  It  is  not  only  a  credit  lo  the 
head  and  heart  of  its  noble  proprietor,  but  to  the  Cumberland  Presby- 
terian church.  Brother  Johnston  is  one  of  our  purest  and  most  efficient 
ministers;  and  it  would,  perhaps,  be  safe  to  say  that  no  one  else  would 
have  made  the  sacrifices  he  has  to  sustain  our  cause  in  the  far  West. 

In  187 1  this  paper  was  bought  by  Dr.  D.  E.  Bu.shnell,  and 
moved  from  Stockton  to  San  Francisco,  where  it  ran  a  short  course 
and  then  ceased  to  exist.     Its  fruits,  however,  still  live. 

The  Theological  Medium — 1845  to  1SS4. 

In  1845,  at  Uniontown,  Pennsylvania,  the  Rev.  INIilton  Bird 
issued  the  first  number  of  the  Theological  Medium.  It  was  at  first 
a  monthly,  devoted  to  theological  discussions.  Its  first  article  was 
a  discussion  of  the  subject  of  election,  by  the  Rev.  Albert  Gibson. 
It  frequently  published  sermons.  Its  location  was  several  times 
changed.  Finally  it  was  changed  into  a  quarterlv.  It  passed 
through  various  hands.  Dr.  T.  C.  Blake  owned  and  edited  it 
a  while.  Then  it  was  bought  by  the  Board  of  Publication,  and  the 
Rev.  M.  B.  DeWitt  was  its  editor.  After  this  the  theological  pro- 
fessors in  Cumberland  University  were  its  proprietors  and  editors. 
Then  W.  C.  Logan,  of  St.  Louis,  Missouri,  in  whose  hands  it  died, 
was  its  owner  and  editor.     Its  name  had,  in  the  meantime,  under- 


Chapter  XLVIL]  NEWSPAPERS.  597 

gone  some  transformations.  Its  last  name  was  the  Cumberland 
Presbyterian  Quarterly.  * 

The  doctrines  and  policy  of  the  church  were  ably  discussed  in 
this  quarterly.  So,  also,  were  many  questions  of  general  interest. 
Nearly  all  our  best  scholars  and  writers  were  at  one  time  or  another 
contributors  to  its  pages.  Its  files  furnish  a  striking  record  of  the 
views  and  the  progress  of  our  people,  and  indicate  a  gratifying 
unity  of  doctrine  and  harmony  of  feeling.  No  arguments  against 
the  inspiration  of  the  Bible,  no  clerical  infidelity,  no  "scientific 
apostasy  from  the  faith  "  is  to  be  found  in  any  of  these  productions 
of  our  writers.  Solid,  old-time  views  on  all  the  great  leading  doc- 
trines greet  us  everywhere  as  we  peruse  these  pages.  The  doctrine 
of  the  plenar)'  inspiration  of  the  whole  Bible,  of  the  eternal  pun- 
ishment of  the  finally  impenitent,  of  the  vicarious  atonement  of 
Christ,  of  the  spiritually  dead  state  of  the  unconverted,  and,  there- 
fore, of  the  absolute  necessity  of  regeneration  and  of  justification 
by  faith,  together  with  all  the  other  standard  doctrines  of  our  Con- 
fession of  Faith,  are  ably  enforced.  Some  little  differences  in 
minor  matters  there  are,  of  course,  but  there  is  a  general  unity  in 
sound  and  orthodox  teaching.  We  find,  too,  in  these  files  many 
able  articles  from  recognized  leaders  on  the  necessity  of  holy  living. 
Prominent  among  those  pleading  for  holiness  of  life  were  Samuel 
McAdow  and  Dr.  Beard. 

Cumberland  Presbyterians  have  had  in  all  over  fifty  periodicals, 
and  over  one  hundred  editors.  There  have  been  six  newspaper 
centers  in  the  Cufnberland  Presbyterian  church:  one  in  Kentucky, 
one  in  Tennessee,  one  in  Pennsylvania,  one  in  Texas,  one  at  Alton 
or  St.  Louis,  and  one  on  the  Pacific  coast.  The  Rev.  F.  Lack's 
paper  in  the  German  language,  and  some  occasional  publications 
in  the  Japanese  tongue,  are  the  only  periodicals  ever  published 
by  our  people  not  in  the  English  language.  There  have  been 
transient  issues  of  some  sort  in  the  Choctaw  language  and,  per- 
haps, in  the  Cherokee,  but  no  regular  periodicals.  The  church 
has  an  important  work  to  do  in  furnishing  a  periodical  literature 
for  our  children  and  young  people.  Our  Sunday-school  publica- 
tions are  doing  great  good,  and  have  a  most  inviting  field  of  use- 
fulness to  cultivate. 


598  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  vi. 

REVISION  OF  THE  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH— 1S54  AND   1883. 

From  the  first  there  was  dissatisfaction  with  the  arrangement 
of  the  chapters  of  our  Confession  of  Faith.  Besides  this,  there 
were  in  the  book  scraps  of  the  Westminster  Confession  that  be- 
longed naturally  to  the  rejected  system  of  fatality,  and  were  hard 
to  fit  into  the  system  held  and  preached  with  great  unanimity  by 
our  ministers.  This  fault  of  our  first  Confession  was  freely  admitted 
by  the  men  who  compiled  the  book.  Strong  statements  to  this 
effect,  from  Ewing  in  particular,  exist  now  in  manuscript,  to  be 
filed  in  the  library  of  Cumberland  University.  In  spite  of  these 
admissions,  not  only  the  original  compilers  of  the  book  but  a  great 
number  of  younger  men  feared  to  open  the  door  of  revision,  lest 
too  great  innovations  should  be  made.  What  greatly  strengthened 
these  fears  was  the  fact  that  one  or  two  strong  men  in  the  church 
who  rejected  vital  points  in  our  system  of  doctrines  were  acknowl- 
edged leaders  among  revisionists. 

In  1852  the  following  paper  was  submitted  to  the  Assembly  by 
the  Rev.  Samuel  Dennis: 

Whereas,  It  is  believed  by  many,  whose  opinions  deserve  respect- 
ful consideration,  that  in  order  to  a  more  clear,  definite,  and  literal  ren- 
dering of  the  distinctive  tenets  of  Cumberland  Presbyterianism,  a 
revision  of  the  Confession  of  Faith  and  Form  of  Government  is  neces- 
sary; and,  whereas,  it  is  believed  that  such  revision  can  be  safely  under- 
taken by  this  General  Assembly;  therefore. 

Resolved^  i.  That  a  committee  of  nine  be  appointed  by  this  General 
Assembly,  whose  duty  it  shall  be  to  take  under  consideration  every  part 
of  the  Confession  of  Faith  and  the  Form  of  Government,  and  report 
the  result  of  their  labors  to  the  next  General  Assembly. 

2.  That  said  committee  shall  have  no  power  to  diminish  any  chapter 
or  section,  or  add  thereto,  only  in  so  far  as  they  may  esteem  it  necessary 
to  present  the  doctrines  and  government  of  the  church  in  as  literal, 
clear,  and  unambiguous  manner  as  possible;  and  they  are  hereby  for- 
bidden to  introduce  a  new  chapter  or  section,  unless  they  shall  esteem 
an  additional  section  to  the  sixteenth  chapter  of  the  Form  of  Govern- 
ment necessary  to  carry  out  the  provisions  of  said  chapter;  nor  shall 
they  be  permitted  to  add  foot-notes. 

After  considerable  discussion,  this  was  negatived.  The  yeas  and 
nays  being  called  stood,  yeas,  14;  nays,  69. 


Chapter  XLVIL]  REVISION.  599 

But  the  revisionists  were  not  to  be  put  down,  even  by  so  decided 
a  vote.  The  very  next  year  they  came  with  a  synodical  memorial, 
asking  for  revision.  The  Assembly  of  1853  yielded  so  far  as  to 
appoint  a  committee  to  prepare  a  revised  Confession.  As  soon  as 
this  was  done,  the  Banner  of  Peace  closed  its  columns  against  the 
discussion  of  the  question.  Its  editor  was  a  revisionist,  but  Milton 
Bird,  who  was  opposed  to  revision,  kept  the  columns  of  his  paper 
open  to  this  discussion.  The  committee  prepared  a  new  creed, 
and  printed  it  and  the  creed  of  18 14  in  parallel  columns.  This 
was  a  very  fair  and  satisfactory  mode  of  presenting  the  case.  This 
amended  Confession  was  reported  by  the  committee  to  the  Assem- 
bly of  1854.  It  contained  no  new  doctrines,  but  presented  a  re- 
arrangement of  the  order  of  the  chapters.  A  few  objectionable 
phrases  were  struck  out,  and  words  more  in  keeping  with  the  gen- 
eral method  of  presenting  our  doctrines  in  the  pulpit  substituted. 
The  first,  second,  fourth,  seventh,  twelfth,  sixteenth,  seventeenth, 
eighteenth,  nineteenth,  twentieth,  twenty -first,  twenty  -  second, 
twenty-third,  twenty-fourth,  twenty-fifth,  twenty-sixth,  twenty- 
seventh,  and  twenty-ninth  chapters  of  the  Confesssion  were  pre- 
sented unchanged. 

On  the  question  of  accepting  this  report  and  of  submitting  the 
proposed  amendments  to  the  presbyteries,  speeches  were  made  by 
Dr.  S.  G.  Burney  and  the  Rev.  Reuben  Burrow  in  favor  of  the 
revision;  and  by  Dr.  Richard  Beard  and  Judge  R.  L.  Caruthers 
against  it.  Very  deep  interest  was  felt  in  the  discussion.  Robert 
Donnell,  who  helped  to  prepare  our  first  Confession,  was  present 
and  took  sides  with  the  opposers  of  revision.  There  was  not  time 
during  the  sitting  of  one  Assembly  thoroughly  to  examine  and  dis- 
cuss the  proposed  amendments.  Men  feared  evils  which  these 
changes  did  not  involve.  When  tlie  vote  was  reached  there  was 
a  very  large  majority  against  the  new  book. 

One  of  the  strangest  things  in  all  the  history  of  the  church  took 
place  after  that.  A  synod  went  so  far  as  to  pass  a  vote  of  cen. 
sure  upon  the  Assembly  for  refusing  to  refer  that  revised  Confession 
to  the  presbyteries,  and  published  its  action  in  the  Banner  of 
Peace. 

An  effort  to  revise  our  Form  of  Government  has  already  been 


6oo  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  vi. 

alluded  to.  It  engaged  the  attention  of  every  General  Assembly 
from  1867  to  1874.  A  committee  consisting  of  Richard  Beard,  S. 
G.  Burney,  J,  H.  Coulter,  R.  L.  Caruthers,  and  John  Frizzell  was 
appointed  in  the  year  first  named,  and  reported  to  the  Assembly  of 
1868  a  revised  Form  of  Government  and  Discipline,  which  was 
approved  and  submitted  to  the  presbyteries.  Fifty-eight  of  the 
one  hundred  presbyteries  reported  action  on  it,  and  but  eight  of 
these  approved  the  revision  as  a  whole;  twenty  accepted  parts  of 
it,  while  twenty-eight  rejected  the  whole.  A  new  committee,  con- 
sisting of  F.  G.  Black,  H.  D.  Onyett,  A.  Templeton,  C.  H.  Bell, 
and  Nathan  Green  w^as  however  appointed  to  perfect  this  work  of 
revision.  By  the  order  of  the  Assembly  of  1870,  fifteen  hundred 
copies  of  this  new  committee's  report  were  printed  and  the  whole 
matter  referred  to  the  next  Assembly.  Much  of  the  time  of  the 
Assemblies  of  187 1  and  1872  was  spent  in  discussing  and  amending 
this  proposed  revision.  Twenty-one  chapters,  composing  a  new 
Form  of  Government,  were  approved  by  the  Assembly  in  1872,  and 
submitted  to  the  presbyteries.  Thirty-se\'en  presbyteries  voted  in 
favor  of  these  chapters,  and  forty-two  against  them,  while  twenty- 
five  presbyteries  were  not  heard  from.  By  the  Assembly  of  1873 
the  same  matter  was  referred  back  to  the  presbyteries  to  enable 
them  to  review  their  action.  But  in  1874  but  forty-three  presby- 
teries reported  in  favor  of  this  revision,  while  forty-six  voted  against 
it.     The  matter  was  then  indefinitely  postponed. 

In  1881  a  memorial  was  presented  to  the  General  Assembly, 
again  asking  for  a  revision  of  the  Confession  of  Faith.  That  As- 
sembly ajjpointed  two  committees,  one  to  revise  the  book,  and 
another  to  revise  this  revision.  The  first  committee  consisted  of 
S.  G.  Burney,  A.  Templeton,  and  John  Frizzell ;  the  second,  of  C. 
H.  Bell,  J.  W.  Poindexter,  A.  B.  Miller,  W.  J.  Darby,  and  R.  L. 
Caruthers.  These  committees  early  in  1882  published  the  result 
of  their  work  in  the  Ciimbe7'la7id  Presbyterian^  presenting  a  "  Re- 
vised Confession  of  Faith,  and  Government."  This  report  was 
also  printed  in  pamphlet  form,  and  mailed  to  all  the  ministers  of 
the  church.  It  was  introduced  by  a  statement,  signed  by  all  the 
members  of  the  committee  who  participated  in  the  work,  setting 
forth  in  a  very  forcible  manner  the  reasons  whv  the  revision  was 


Chapter  XLVIL]  REVISION.  60I 

thought  desirable.     This  introduction  gave  the  following  account 
of  the  work  of  the  committees: 

The  first  committee  met  at  Lebanon,  Tennessee,  November  i8, 
iSSi,  all  the  members  being  present,  and  continued  its  labors  until  the 
evening  ot  the  24th,  holding  three  sessions  daily,  Sunday  excepted. 
The  second  committee  convened  November  25,  1881,  at  the  same  place, 
Ministers  C.  H.  Bell  and  W.  J.  Darby,  and  Ruling  Elder  R.  L.  Caruth- 
ers  being  present;  and  continued  its  labors  one  week,  holding  three 
sessions  daily,  Sunday  excepted.  By  request  the  first  committee  was 
present  with  the  second  at  its  meetings,  and  participated  in  its  delibera- 
tions. The  discussions  were  full  and  free,  evincing  a  wonderful  harmony 
of  opinion.  Some  preferences  as  to  verbal  form  had,  of  course,  to  be 
surrendered.  This,  however,  was  always  done  in  the  true  spirit  of 
compromise,  and  in  no  instance  was  there  a  negative  vote.  Mindful  of 
the  fact  that  the  committees  were  appointed  not  to  make  a  new  Con- 
fession, but  to  revise  the  old  one,  we  have  studied  not  to  transcend  our 
authorit}';  and  we  have  no  hesitation  in  saying  that  we  have  not  changed 
a  single  doctrine  fundamental  to  your  scheme  of  theology,  or  any  of  its 
logical  correlates. 

It  was  announced  that  the  object  of  publishing  this  report  before 
the  meeting  of  the  Assembly  was  "  to  secure  to  the  committees  the 
benefit  of  the  suggestions  and  criticisms  or  objections"  that  any 
person  might  wish  to  make  before  the  revised  book  should  be  finally 
presented  to  the  Assembly.  The  secretaries  of  the  two  committees 
published  the  following  statement: 

The  committees  feel  that  they  have  discharged  the  trust  assigned 
them  by  the  General  Assembly  with  a  conscientious  regard  to  its  impor- 
tance, but  they  will  meet  again  for  a  final  revision  previous  to  the  meet- 
ing of  the  Assembly.  Any  suggestion  forwarded  to  them  in  the  mean- 
time will  be  carefully  considered  before  the  matter  is  submitted  to  the 
Assembly. 

The  discussion  of  this  report  and  of  questions  connected  with 
it  was  excluded  from  the  church  paper  until  after  the  meeting  of 
the  Assembly  of  1882,  the  editor  assigning  the  following  reasons: 

The  report  being  yet  in  the  hands  of  the  committee,  and  incomplete, 
it  of  course  is  not  yet  presented  for  adoption,  and  is  not  legitimately 
before  the  church  for  discussion.  .  .  .  To  enter  upon  a  general  discus- 
sion of  the  report  while  it  is  in  this  incomplete  state  would  not  be  justice 
to  the  committee  nor  profitable  to  the  church,  as  it  would  be  necessary 


6o3  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.      [Period  vi. 

to  go  over  the  whole  ground  again.  .  .  .  We  want  the  report  consid- 
ered and  the  issue  met  on  its  merits,  which  can  not  be  done  now.  .  .  . 
The  work  is  incomplete  and  in  the  hands  of  a  committee,  and  has  not 
been  considered  by  the  General  Assembly.  Therefore  the  time  for  a 
discussion  in  the  paper  has  nut  come. 

It  probably  would  have  been  well,  in  order  to  remove  all  possible 
grotinds  of  dissatisfaction  or  complaint,  to  have  allowed  those  not 
in  favor  of  revision  to  state  their  objections  in  the  church  paper, 
even  before  the  report  was  submitted  to  the  Assembly.  There 
would  have  been  no  injustice  to  the  committees  in  this.  They 
wotild  have  been  helped  rather  than  hindered  by  the  suggestions 
which  such  a  discussion  would  have  called  forth.  There  was  really 
no  danger  of  any  angry  or  distracting  controversy.  A  full  and  im- 
partial discussion  at  that  time,  while  it  could  not  have  changed  the 
final  result,  would  have  satisfied  the  few  who  were  opposed  to  the 
new  book.  But  these  few  really  had  no  serious  ground  of  com- 
plaint. The  committees  called  for  suggestions  from  the  whole 
church,  giving  every  man  in  the  denomination  a  chance  to  file  his 
objection  or  record  his  protest;  and  in  the  Assembly,  and  afterward 
in  the  papers  and  before  the  presbyteries,  the  fullest  possible  oppor- 
tunity for  discussion  was  afforded.  The  Assembly  of  1882  made 
considerable  changes  in  the  proposed  book,  and  then  referred  it  to 
the  presbyteries,  requiring  them  to  accept  or  reject  the  new  Confes- 
sion as  a  whole. 

There  were  some  who  thought  final  action  should  have  been 
deferred  another  year,  to  give  time  for  further  suggestions  and 
amendments,  but  the  majority  thought  otherwise.  A  large  por- 
tion of  the  new  book  is  the  work  of  the  Assembly  of  1882.  As  a 
system  it  differs  from  the  old  in  nothing  but  its  omissions.  It  con- 
tains no  new  doctrines.  No  original  Cumberland  Presbyterian 
could  reject  the  new  Confession. 

Improvements,  which  an  anti-revisionist  is  obliged  to  admit, 
are  found  in  very  many  places.  For  example  the  order  of  subjects 
in  our  first  Confession  is  Justification,  Adoption,  Sanctification, 
Saving  Faith,  Repentance;  while  the  order  in  the  revised  book  is 
Repentance,  Faith,  Justification,  Regeneration,  Adoption,  Sanctifi- 
cation.    Every  old-time  Cumberland  Presbyterian  recognizes  the 


Chapter  XLVII.]  REVISION.  603 

landmarks  of  our  theological  system  in  the  second  arrangement, 
but  not  in  the  first.  Throughout  the  new  book,  harmony  with  our 
pulpit  theology  is  clearly  discernible. 

The  only  just  grounds  for  complaint  against  the  new  book  are 
in  its  omissions,  and  in  its  loose  and  hastily  written  portions. 
After  all.  Confessions  of  Faith  are  smaller,  far  smaller  matters  now 
than  they  were  in  the  preceding  century.  The  Bible,  studied  as  a 
book,  without  reference  to  creeds,  is  very  different  from  the  Bible 
studied  in  the  light  of  a  particular  creed.  The  Bible  as  a  book  is 
what  our  International  Sabbath-school  System  puts  us  all  to  study- 
ing. The  Bible  as  a  book  will,  it  is  hoped,  one  day  be  studied  in 
all  our  theological  schools.  It  is  the  utter  abuse  of  creeds  to  use 
them  as  candles  for  studying  the  Scripture.  They  have  their  ap- 
propriate place,  but  that  place  is  a  very  subordinate  one. 

The  report  of  the  committees  contained  no  list  of  proof-texts, 
and  there  is  no  record  of  such  a  list  ever  coming  before  the  Assem- 
bly. These  proof-texts  were  not,  therefore,  submitted  to  the  pres- 
byteries, and  are  left  by  the  committees  just  where  they  ought  to 
be  left,  as  mere  suggestions  and  nothing  more.  They  are  helpful, 
and  there  their  mission  ends.  So  too  the  preface  is  properly  left  in 
the  same  loose  connection  with  the  creed.  It  is  not  and  should  not 
be  a  part  of  our  doctrines.  It  was  very  properly  never  referred  to 
the  presbyteries,  and  contains  historic  statements  which  may  be 
questioned  without  incurring  the  charge  of  heresy.  Whether  we 
think  it  good  or  bad,  true  or  false,  is  a  matter  of  no  importance. 

One  thing  that  did  go  down  to  the  presbyteries  and  meet  their 
approval,  and  now  stands  as  a  law  of  the  church,  was  improperly 
or  by  oversight  omitted  from  the  stereotyped  book,  though  it  was 
in  the  earlier  and  cheaper  edition.     It  is  this: 

It  being  hereby  distinctly  understood  and  declared  that  those  who- 
have  heretofore  received  and  adopted  the  Confession  of  Faith  approved 
by  the  General  Assembly  in  1829,  and  who  prefer  to  adhere  to  the  doc- 
trinal statements  contained  therein,  are  at  liberty  to  do  so.  [First 
(printed)  edition  of  new  Confession,  page  137.  See  also  Assembly's 
Minutes,  1882,  page  36.] 

This  is  the  edition  on  which  the  presbyteries  acted.  This  item 
went  far  toward  satisfying  the  anti-revisionists. 


6o4  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  vi. 

The  presbyteries  voted  almost  unaniinously  in  favor  of  the 
adoption  of  this  new  creed.  There  has  been  nothing  like  this 
nnanimity  in  all  ecclesiastical  history.  It  amazed  and  silenced 
those  who  were  opposed  to  revision.  Most  of  these  determined  at 
once  to  acqniesce.  A  few  may  still  be  unhappy  about  it,  but  even 
they  are  bound  to  admit  that  the  new  creed  is  by  no  means  what 
they  apprehended  that  it  would  prove  to  be. 

After  Paul  came  as  an  appendix  to  the  apostleship,  God  sent 
Peter  (one  of  the  fathers)  to  write  a  few  words,  in  his  old  age,  to 
let  the  churches  know  that  he  indorsed  what  this  fiery  apostle  to 
the  Gentiles  had  taught  in  his  epistles.  So,  in  1883,  God  in  his 
goodness  allowed  John  L.  Dillard,  who  was  a  full-grown  man  be- 
fore our  church  was  organized,  in  1810,  and  who  was  a  companion 
in  the  gospel  with  all  the  first  Cumberland  Presbyterian  ministers, 
to  speak  in  terms  of  approval  of  the  doctrinal  teachings  and  the 
spirit  of  the  church  in  this  generation.  He  not  only  saw  and  read 
the  new  creed,  but  expressed  himself  as  well  pleased  with  it.  It  is 
not  likely  that  such  an  old  watch-dog  of  our  orthodoxy  could  be 
deceived. 

TEMPERANCE. 

Among  the  items  taken  down  by  the  author  of  this  history 
from  the  lips  of  the  Rev.  Thomas  Calhoun,  in  1845,  was  the  fol- 
lowing: "Samuel  King  was  the  first  man  I  ever  heard  come  out 
publicly  against  even  the  moderate  use  of  whisky.  He  refused  to 
ask  a  blessing  at  a  public  dinner  because  the  table  had  whisky 
on  it."  In  the  Minutes  of  Elk  Presbytery  for  April,  1816,  page 
21,  Vol.  I.,  are  resolutions  pledging  all  the  members  to  total  absti- 
nence, and  binding  them  to  enforce  this  rule  to  the  utmost  among 
their  people,  and  wherever  else  their  authority  or  influence  ex- 
tended. 

Our  church  papers  have  all  been  agreed  in  their  opposition  to 
intemperance  and  the  whisky  traffic.  Whatever  else  they  may 
have  differed  about,  they  all  have  spoken  with  one  voice  on  this 
subject.  It  would  be  hard  to  determine  which  of  our  one  hundred 
editors  has  been  the  most  outspoken  against  whisky  and  in  favor 
of  temperance.  Those  now  in  the  editorial  work  are  all  earnest 
advocates  of  total  abstinence  and  prohibition,  but  they  are  not 


Chapter  XLVIL]  TEMPERANCE.  605 

more  earnest  or  outspoken  on  this  subject  than  was  David  Lowr}^, 
who  belonged  to  the  first  editorial  corps  of  our  first  church  news- 
paper. 

Tlie  Rev.  Le  Roy  Woods  gave  in  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian 
the  following  reasons  for  going  to  the  legislature  of  Indiana, 
in  1855: 

The  facts  in  the  case  are  these.  I  had  given  up  m}'  place  as  pub- 
lishing agent,  and  had  taken  a  very  active  part  in  the  temperance  cause, 
which  has  agitated  our  State  from  one  end  to  the  other.  I  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  State  convention,  which  resolved  to  ignore  all  party  ques- 
tions and  make  the  passage  of  a  prohibitory  law  the  issue  at  the  polls. 
I  had  advocated  the  same  in  a  convention  in  our  own  county,  and 
strongly  advocated  the  nomination  of  a  temperance  ticket  for  the  county 
in  the  event  of  the  politicians  refusing  to  do  so.  They  did  refuse,  and 
we  had  no  alternative  left  us  but  to  have  our  county  represented  by 
men  opposed  to  our  whole  temperance  scheme,  or  nominate  a  ticket  of 
our  own.  This  we  determined  to  do.  When  we  came  to  look  over 
the  ground  and  see  the  difficulty,  we  had  some  trouble  in  finding  men 
who  would  assume  the  responsibility  of  pleading  the  claims  of  our 
cause  before  the  public.  In  this  dilemma  the  convention,  without  a 
single  dissenting  voice,  demanded  of  me  that  I  should  accept  the  nom- 
ination and  make  the  canvass.  No  one  but  myself  knows  the  struggle 
which  it  cost  me  to  obtain  my  own  consent.  Nothing  but  my  deep 
solicitude  for  the  cause  of  temperance,  and  a  sense  of  duty  to  our  com- 
mon country,  could  have  induced  me  to  accept  this  expression  of  confi- 
dence on  the  part  of  so  many  of  my  fellow-citizens.  On  the  day  of 
my  nomination,  and  throughout  the  whole  canvass,  I  publicly  refused  to 
be  a  politician.  I  made  the  race  exclusively  on  the  question  of  "  Search 
and  Seizure,"  no  other  question  ^vas  discussed. 

He  was  elected  on  this  prohibition  ticket,  called  the  "Search 
and  Seizure"  ticket. 

When  our  church  had  but  three  presbyteries,  and  drinking 
whisky  was  as  common  as  drinking  coflfee  is  now,  each  of  these 
presbyteries  declared  it  to  be  an  offense  worthy  of  discipline  to 
make,  sell,  give  away,  or  drink  intoxicating  liquors.  Our  church 
courts  have  kept  up  these  utterances,  only  making  them  stronger 
and  stronger  as  the  years  have  passed  away.  All  of  our  recent 
Assemblies  have  declared  it  to  be  the  duty  of  Cumberland  Presby- 
terians to  co-operate  in  all  lawful  efforts  to  secure  the  prohibition 


6o6  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  vi. 

of  the  manufacture  and  sale  of  intoxicating  drinks.     The  Assem- 
bly of  1 85 1  passed  the  following  resolution: 

Resolved,  That  it  is  the  sense  of  this  General  Assembly  that  to 
make,  buy,  sell,  or  use  as  a  beverage  any  spirituous  or  intoxicating 
liquors  is  an  immorality;  that  it  is  not  only  unauthorized,  but  forbidden 
by  the  word  of  God.  We  do,  therefore,  recommend  to  the  several 
churches  under  our  care,  to  abstain  wholly  from  their  use. 

The  Assembly  of  1853  adopted  a  report  which,  after  setting 
forth  the  evils  of  intemperance,  asks: 

What  is  the  duty  of  the  church  iclative  to  this  important  question.'* 
We  believe  there  is  but  one  answer.  It  is  the  duty  of  the  Christian  to 
use  every  reasonable  effort  within  his  power  to  advance  the  glorious 
cause  of  temperance.  If  he  fails  in  this  he  fails  in  one  material  branch 
of  his  duty,  and  will  be  held  accountable  for  the  failure.  We  regard 
the  efforts  now  being  made  in  the  temperance  cause  as  requiring  the 
co-operation  of  the  church,  ...  as  one  of  the  means  of  reforming  and 
finally  converting  the  world;  and  the  failure  of  church  mem.bers  thus 
to  co-operate  amounts  to  a  sin  against  light  and  knowledge.  So  far  as 
our  information  extends,  this  branch  of  Zion  is  discharging  her  duty  in 
this  great  work  with  commendable  zeal. 

The  efforts  which  Christians  should  use  for  the  furtherance  of  this 
work  consist  not  alone  in  abstaining  from  the  use  of  ardent  spirits,  and 
being  Washingtonians  or  Sons  of  Temperance.  The  true  and  devoted 
advocate  of  temperance  will  labor  for  the  enactment  of  such  laws  as 
will  prohibit  the  making,  vending,  or  use  of  intoxicating  liquors. 

To  this  preamble  the  following  resolutions  were  added: 

1.  It  is  incompatible  with  the  character  of  a  Christian,  and  particu- 
larly the  Christian  character  of  a  Cumberland  Presbvterian,  to  use  or  in 
any  way  to  encourage  the  use  of  ardent  spirits  as  a  beverage. 

2.  If  he  fails  to  use  reasonable  efforts  to  bring  about,  by  legal  enact- 
ments or  otherwise,  an  entire  prohibition  of  the  liquor  traffic,  he  acts 
beneath  his  duty  as  a  professor  of  religion. 

3.  Christians  not  only  have  duties  to  discharge  to  the  church  and 
the  world  as  Christians,  but  also  to  their  government  and  society  as 
citizens. 

4.  In  discharging  the  latter  duty  they  should  be  governed  by  the 
broad  principles  of  Christian  philanthropy,  advocating  the  extermina- 
tion of  alcoholic  drinks  .  .  .  by  the  enactment  of  prohibitoiy  laws  for 
that  purpose,  with  such  penalties  as  will  cause  those  laws  to  be  re- 
spected and  enforced. 


Chapter  XLVIL]  TEMPERANCE.  607 

With  some  slight  verbal  changes,  this  preamble,  accompanied 
by  the  same  resolutions,  was  adopted  by  the  Assembly  of  1854. 

Time  after  time  the  Assembly  and  subordinate  judicatures  have 
called  on  all  our  ministers  and  churches  to  pray  for  the  overthrow 
of  the  whisky  traffic.  Sunday-schools  have  been  again  and  again 
urged  to  teach  the  doctrine  of  total  abstinence  and  prohibition. 
Men  who  sell  intoxicating  spirits  have  repeatedly  been  declared 
unfit  for  church  membership. 

In  1876  the  managers  of  the  Philadelphia  Centennial  Exhibi- 
tion made  provisions  to  allow  whisky  to  be  sold  on  their  grounds. 
Our  General  Assembly  that  year,  by  a  unanimous  rising  vote,  pro- 
tested against  this  action  as  "  a  flagrant  violation  of  the  moral  and 
Christian  sense  of  the  American  people,"  and  appealed  to  the  Cen- 
tennial Board  of  Finance  to  revoke  this  license,  adoptmg  the  fol- 
lowing resolution: 

Resolved^  That  we  do  hereby  earnestly  recommend  that  all  the 
members  of  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  church  refrain  from  patron- 
izing the  Centennial  Exhibition  until  the  ruling  of  the  Board  of  Man- 
agers be  changed  on  this  subject. 

The  Assembly  of  1884  appointed  "a  day  of  special  prayer  for 
divine  guidance  in  the  selection  of  discreet  and  godly  men  by  the 
great  political  parties"  in  the  national  conventions  then  approach- 
ing. It  urged  that  greater  prominence  should  be  given  to  the 
subject  of  temperance  in  Sunday-schools,  and  that  temperance 
meetings  for  children  should  be  held.  It  indorsed  the  various 
societies  organized  to  promote  the  temperance  reform,  enumerating 
"the  several  State  Temperance  Alliances,  the  Woman's  Christian 
Temperance  Union,  the  Order  of  Good  Templars,  the  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association,  and  the  Band  of  Hope." 

In  1885  the  Assembly  declared  "the  manufacture  or  sale  of 
ardent  spirits  as  a  beverage  inconsistent  with  Christian  character 
and  the  high  relation  of  church  membership;"  and  in  1886  the 
cause  of  prohibition  was  indorsed  in  this  strong  language: 

Recognizing  the  manufacture  and  sale  of  intoxicating  liquors  as  the 
source  of  very  great  evils,  we  re-affirm  our  unflinching  devotion  to  the 
cause  of  absolute  constitutional  prohibition,  and  we  are  glad  to  note 
that  other  ecclesiastical  bodies  are  taking  high  ground  on  this  subject. 


6o8  Cumberland  Pi<.KSBVTiiRiAN  History.       [Period  vi. 

The  Assembly  of  1887  declared  "that  the  failure  or  refusal  of 
any  professed  follower  of  our  divine  :^Iaster  to  use  his  profession  in 
favor  of,  to  pray  for,  labor  for,  and  vote  for  such  legislation  as  will 
free  the  country  and  God's  church  from  this  drink  curse,  is  incon- 
sistent with  the  teachings  of  holy  Scripture  and  the  example  of  our 
Savior. ' ' 

David  Lowry,  in  an  article  published  not  long  before  his  death, 
adduces  an  array  of  testimonies  to  prove  that  the  use  of  fermented 
wines  was  forbidden  at  the  Jewish  passovers,'  presenting  Jewish 
instructions  about  the  time  and  the  manner  in  which  the  pass- 
over  wine  should  be  prepared,  and  denying  that  Christ  made  fer- 
mented wine  or  wine  that  would  intoxicate.  He  showed  that  all 
the  direct  utterances  of  the  Bible  on  this  subject  condemn  strong 
drink  in  the  most  unmistakable  terms.  Incidental  mention  of  har- 
lots and  of  thieves  there  are,  in  which  the  sacred  writer  does  not 
stop  to  express  condemnation,  but  in  every  direct  declaration  con- 
cerning their  character  and  their  deeds  they  are  condemned.  Of  the 
same  nature  are  all  the  Bible  utterances  about  strong  drink.  Many 
incidental  mentions  of  it  we  find,  but  in  even,^  case  where  its  char- 
acter is  directly  pronounced  upon,  it  is  either  condemned  or  pro- 
hibited, or  both.  All  persons  are  forbidden  even  to  look  upon  the 
wine  when  it  is  red.^  We  are  forbidden  to  induct  into  the  ministry 
any  man  who  is  given  to  wine-drinking.  3  Such  is  the  tone  gen- 
erally of  the  direct  declarations  of  God's  word. 

By  the  grace  of  God  the  sober  people  of  the  laud  are  determined 
to  give  the  matter  no  rest  until  the  manufacture  and  sale  of  intox- 
icating drinks  are  as  thoroughly  prohibited  by  law  as  are  theft  and 
-  murder. 

The  following  anecdote  concerning  the  Rev.  J.  ]M.  Berr}^,  which 
appeared  in  one  of  our  church  papers,  is  given  as  a  fitting  close  for 
this  chapter: 

Abraham  Lincoln  was  once  the  partner  in  a.  little  store  with 
William  Berry,  the  Rev.  J.  M.  Berry's  son — his  prodiofal  son.  After 
Lincoln  had   retired    from    the  "store,"  and  had    gained   considerable 

*  It  was  an  offense  punishable  bj  death  to  be  found  with  leaven  in  the  house. 
Leavened  or  fermented  wine  would  have  incurred  that  penalty. — Ex.  xii.  19. 
=  Prov.  xxiii.  31,  32.         3i  Tim.  iii.  3;  Titus  i.  7,  S. 


Chapter  XLVII.]  TEMPERANCE.  609 

notoriety  as  a  lawyer,  some  women  banded  together  and  broke  up  a 
grog-shop  which  had  become  an  intolerable  nuisance  to  the  neigh- 
borhood. They  knocked  in  the  heads  of  the  barrels  and  kegs,  and 
smashed  the  bottles.  When  the  dram  seller  threatened  them  with  the 
law  or  violence,  one  of  the  women  said  to  him:  "Be  quiet,  for  we 
are  determined  to  knock  in  the  head  of  every  thing  that  has  liquor  in 
it;  and  your  own  head  is  in  danger."  Lincoln  volunteered  to  plead  the 
cause  of  the  women.  The  case  was  tried  in  the  town  where  the  Rev. 
J.  M.  Berry  lived.  A  large  crowd  had  collected  to  hear  the  pleading. 
The  evils  of  intemperance  were  so  eloquently  presented  as  to  touch 
most  of  those  present,  and  many  were  bathed  in  tears.  "  There,"  said 
the  speaker,  pointing  his  long  bony  finger  toward  Mr.  Berry,  "is  the 
man  who  years  ago  was  instrumental  in  convincing  me  of  the  evils  of 
trafficking  in  and  using  ardent  spirits."  Tears  ran  in  streams  down  the 
aged  preacher's  cheeks.  His  thoughts  at  that  time  were  probably 
something  like  this:  "O  my  ruined  boy!  I  lost  you,  but  saved  your 
partner.     Thank  God  my  labors  were  not  in  vain  in  the  Lord." 

39 


6io  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  vi. 


CHAPTER   XLVIII. 


NEW  FIELDS,  EVANGELISTS,  PROGRESS,  REFLECTIONS. 

Springs  of  life  in  desert  places 

Shall  thy  God  unseal  for  thee; 
Qiiickening  and  reviving  graces, 

Dew-like,  healing,  sweet  and  free. 

—F.  R.  H. 

PIONEER  missionaries  of  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  churcli 
have  penetrated  to  almost  all  the  Territories  of  the  West.  The 
lack  of  an  adequate  home  mission  fund  has  crippled  the  efforts  of 
our  people  to  establish  congregations,  but  in  spite  of  the  lack  of 
strong  support  from  the  churches  in  the  older  States,  a  good  work 
has  been  done  in  many  towns  and  country  places  in  these  new 
fields. 

COLORADO. 

As  soon  as  the  Territory  of  Colorado  was  open  to  white  settlers, 
Cumberland  Presbyterian  preachers  and  private  members  joined 
the  tide  of  emigration  that  flowed  thither.  The  Rev.  B.  F.  Moore 
was  perhaps  the  first  of  our  preachers  to  make  his  home  in  this 
Territory.  He  was  there  and  at  work  when  the  Rev.  J.  Cal.  Lit- 
trell  and  the  Rev.  S.  D.  Givens  arrived  in  the  fall  of  1870.  The 
Board  of  Missions  rendered  some  little  assistance  to  Littrell  and 
Givens,  whose  work  in  that  Territory  was  crowned  with  great 
success. 

In  November,  1870,  these  three  ministers,  Moore,  Littrell,  and 
Givens,  organized  the  Rocky  Mountain  Presbyter}'.'  This  presby- 
tery had  at  first  but  one  congregation  under  its  care.  The  mission- 
aries traveled  from  house  to  house,  laboring  among  the  families  of 
the  emigrants,  and  holding  meetings  wherever  they  could  gather 
the  people  together.  In  1872  there  were  six  congregations,  one 
hundred   and   nine   members,   and   one   hundred   and   forty-eight 

'  Sketch  furnished  by  stated  clerk,  the  Rev.  W.  W.  M.  Barber. 


Chapter  XLVIIL]  NEW   FlELDS.  6ll 

pupils  in  the  Sunday-schools.  The  church  property  in  the  pres- 
byterial  bounds  was  valued  at  five  thousand  dollars.  In  the  year 
ending  May,  1874,  Littrell  traveled  over  five  thousand  miles,  and 
preached  one  hundred  and  eighty-seven  times.  There  were  four 
congregations  in  his  field  of  labor. 

The  Rev.  T.  H.  Henderson  was  laboring  as  missionary  at  Col- 
orado Springs  in  1874.  In  1875  the  Board  reported  that  this  mis- 
sion had  been  taken  under  its  care.  The  congregation  then  had  a 
"good  church  edifice  finished  and  paid  for,  and  a  small  organiza- 
tion of  energetic  and  liberal  members."  The  Rev.  P.  A.  Rice,  who 
succeeded  the  Rev.  T.  H.  Henderson  as  missionary,  had  also  re- 
signed. After^vard  the  Rev.  J.  H.  Steele,  the  Rev.  J.  Cal.  Littrell, 
and  the  Rev.  W.  A.  Hyde  successiveh^  served  as  missionaries  here. 
To  the  Assembly  of  1881  the  board  announced  that  this  mission 
had  been  declared  self-sustaining. 

The  city  of  Pueblo  was  a  point  of  interest  to  Cumberland  Pres- 
byterian pioneers,  and  a  good  beginning  in  denominational  work 
was  made  there  mainly  by  private  enterprise.  Then  the  congrega- 
tion was  adopted  by  our  board  as  a  mission.  A  comfortable  church 
was  built  and  paid  for.  When  the  Board  of  Missions  made  its  re- 
port in  1 886,  this  congregation  had  a  membership  of  twenty,  and 
church  property  valued  at  $3,500. 

NEW    MEXICO. 

In  1875  that  zealous  pioneer,  the  Rev.  J.  Cal.  Littrell,  published 
the  following  account  of  an  exploring  trip  made  by  him  in  New 
Mexico: 

Through  the  kindness  of  my  congregations  and  friends  at  home,  I 
was  granted  time  to  visit  Colfax  County,  New  Mexico.  I  had  been 
for  over  a  year  receiving  earnest  requests  from  the  people  there,  urging 
me  to  visit  them  and  preach  to  them.  This  I  have  done  during  the  past 
twenty-five  days.  I  found  large  communities  gospel  hungry.  Tliey 
have  no  preaching,  no  Sunday-schools,  no  assembling  together  on  the 
Sabbath  dnv.  I  preached  where  the  gospel  had  never  been  proclaimed 
before.  Some  had  not  heard  a  sermon  for  more  than  ten  years.  We 
were  blessed  witli  gracious  outpourings  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  Christians 
were  made  liappy  in  a  Savior's  love  afresh,  and  some  for  the  first  time 
learned  the  joy  of  believing.  Men  of  the  world  wept  and  trembled. 
There  was  much  earnest  pleading  for  help.     Many  said:  "Won't  you 


6i3  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  vi. 

come  and  preach  to  us,  or  scnil  some  one  ?  We  arc  poor,  but  we  will 
do  all  we  can."  I  thank  God  that  I  went,  although  it  was  a  hard  trip, 
and  I  received  less  than  my  expenses.  I  have  the  assurance  that  I  did 
them  some  good.  I  met  several  Cumberland  Presbyterians.  O  that 
the  missionary  spirit  would  fire  some  fiiithful  and  efficient  man  to  go 
into  that  field!  It  is  extensive,  and  white  unto  harvest.  I  traveled  four 
hundred  and  fifteen  miles,  and  received  one  dollar  and  fifteen  cents. 

No  attempt  has  been  made  to  plant  Cumberland  Presbyterian 
churches  in  New  Mexico. 

NEBRASKA. 

Before  Nebraska  was  a  home  for  white  settlers  it  was  part  of 
the  great  highway  to  the  Pacific.  Fur  traders,  soldiers,  daring 
adventurers,  and  miners  had  their  regular  routes  of  travel  across 
its  wide  plains,  and  their  posts  for  supplies  along  its  water-courses. 
Along  with  these  travelers  were  some  of  our  own  people,  as  well  as 
along  with  the  very  first  permanent  settlers  on  this  soil.  Like 
most  pioneers,  however,  they  published  no  history  of  their  labors. 
It  is  by  no  means  to  be  presumed  that  their  lives  were  destitute  of 
adventures.  Indian  difficulties  and  Indian  massacres  we  know 
there  were,  and  questions  growing  out  of  some  of  these  came  up 
for  discussion  and  decision  before  the  national  authorities  ten  years 
after  Nebraska  became  an  organized  Territory  of  the  United  States. 

When  all  became  peaceful,  it  did  not  follow  that  Indians  were 
no  longer  Indians.  It  is  said  that  when  the  kind-hearted  Quakers 
of  Philadelphia  heard  that  the  Nebraska  squaws  wore  no  bonnets, 
they  immediately  sent  an  ample  stipply.  On  the  reception  of 
these,  the  Indian  braves  held  a  council  and  decided  to  use  the  bon- 
nets for  "crow  cushions,"  bound  upon  the  persons  not  of  the 
squaws,  but  the  warriors! 

The  men  who  organized  and  managed  the  celebrated  express 
company  for  overland  passengers  and  freight  from  the  ' '  States ' '  to 
California  before  the  war,  were  members  of  the  Cumberland  Pres- 
byterian church.  The  histor\-  of  this  enterprise  with  the  biog- 
raphies of  the  men  who  planned  it  and  carried  it  out,  wotild,  if 
published,  form  a  volume  of  thrilling  interest.  Large-hearted, 
brave,  adventurous  men  they  were,  and  all  the  West  teems  with 
stories  of  their  wonderful  energy  and  liberality.  This  company 
had  one  of  its  important  stations  in  what  is  now  Nebraska  City. 


Chapter  XLVIII.]  NEW  FlELDS.  613 

The  following  account  of  the  introduction  of  the  Cumberland 
Presbyterian  church  in  the  Territor}'  of  Nebraska  was  written  in 
1868  by  the  Rev.  R.  S.  Reed,  then  pastor  at  Nebraska  City,  and 
published  in  the  Banner  of  Peace  : 

I  am  not  positive,  but  believe  tliat  the  first  sermon  by  a  Cumberland 
Presbyterian  minister  in  Nebraska  was  preached  in  the  spring  of 
1S58  or  1859,  by  tlie  Rev.  Robert  Renick,  of  Missouri.  It  occurred  in 
this  way:  Alexander  Majors,  Esq.,  formerly  of  Independence,  Missouri, 
and  for  many  years  a  ruling  elder  in  our  church  at  that  place,  had  set- 
tled in  Nebraska  City,  and  was  extensively  engaged  in  the  freighting 
business.  The  rules  by  which  he  governed  his  teamsters — usually  a 
rough  class  of  men — were  peculiar  to  himself,  but  of  very  extensive 
notoriety  in  this  Western  country.  Among  other  wholesome  require- 
ments, drunkenness  and  profanity  were  positively  prohibited  under 
penalty  of  immediate  dismission  from  service  without  pay.  These  rules 
were  strictly  enforced;  and,  in  addition,  it  was  Mr.  Majors'  custom  to 
rest  on  the  Sabbath,  and  hold  prayer-meetings  with  his  men.  These 
meetings  he  usually  conducted  himself,  often  delivering  extempore  ex- 
hortations, in  which  he  was  not  a  little  gifted.  Sometimes  a  minister 
in  the  company  preached,  and  in  this  way  it  is  possible  that  some  Cum- 
berland Presbyterian  minister  preached  in  this  Territory  before  Father 
Renick. 

A  wave  of  moral  influence  was  started  through  the  untiring  efforts 
of  Mr,  Majors,  whose  effects  will  be  seen  and  felt  in  eternity.  But 
few  men,  if  any,  have  such  moral  power  in  this  country  as  that  which 
he  exercised.  Would  to  God  we  had  many  more  such  elders.  About 
the  time  to  which  reference  has  been  made,  he  induced  Father  Renick 
to  come  to  Nebraska  City,  paying  him  a  good  salary  out  of  his  own 
pocket  to  preach  to  his  men  while  in  camp.  Father  Renick  came  and 
preached  for  some  months  in  a  beautiful  grove  adjoining  the  city  and 
known  as  the  "Outfitting  Grounds."  Mr.  Majors  expected  to  secure 
the  organization  of  a  Cumberland  Presbyterian  church,  but  Father 
Renick  returned  to  Missouri,  and  the  purpose  was  abandoned  for  the 
time.  About  this  time  one  or  two  camp-meetings  were  held  near  this 
city  by  Mr.  Majors,  and  perhaps  some  other  Cumberland  Presbyterians, 
m  connection  with  brethren  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  Gra- 
cious revivals  were  enjoyed  at  these  meetings,  and  many  sinners  were 
converted. 

The  first  Cumberland  Presbyterian  church  organized  in  the  Terri- 
tory of  Nebraska  was  at  Nebraska  City.  The  great  civil  war,  and  espe- 
cially the  troubles  in  Missouri  consequent  upon  this  war,  had  brought 
quite  a  large  emigration  to  this  city.      Among  these  emigrants  were 


6i4  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  vi. 

quite  a  number  of  Cumberland  Presbyterians  and  Southern  Meth- 
odists, wlio  were  as  sheep  without  a  shepherd.  Business  had  called 
Mr.  Majors  and  a  few  others  here  prior  to  this.  The  most  of  these 
united,  temporarily,  with  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church;  but  such 
were  the  political  influences  brought  to  bear  in  this  church  and  from 
the  pulpit  during  the  exciting  times  of  war,  that  it  was  impossible  for 
them  to  live  in  peace  here.  They  accordingly  quietly  withdrew.  It 
was  then  proposed  to  find  a  home  in  the  Presbyterian  church  (O.  S.). 
The  Rev.  J.  G.  Dalton,  a  worthy  brother  and  member  of  the  Lexington 
Presbytery  of  our  church,  being  here  at  the  time,  did,  by  invitation, 
occupy  the  pulpit  of  that  church  for  a  few  months.  But  such  was  the 
discourtesy  with  which  the  proposition  to  unite  with  that  church  was 
treated,  that  our  brethren  felt  they  could  not  find  a  congenial  home  with 
that  people. 

It  was,  perhaps,  about  this  time  that  the  Rev.  O.  D.  Allen,  from 
Missouri,  gathered  up  a  few  Cumberland  Presbyterians  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Rock  Bluff,  about  eighteen  miles  above  Nebraska  City,  and 
preached  for  them  for  a  time.  About  the  same  time,  perhaps  a  little 
later,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Starnes,  of  Missouri,  commenced  operations  near 
Brownsville,  some  thirty  miles  below  Nebraska  Cit)'.  His  labors  have 
since  resulted  in  the  organization  of  a  respectable  congregation  of  Cum- 
berland Presbyterians. 

Our  people  at  Nebraska  City,  driven  from  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church,  and  denied  sympathy  and  encouragement  when  they  sought  to 
unite  with  the  Presbyterian  church,  were  shut  up  to  the  necessity,  as 
were  our  fathers,  of  an  independent  organization.  Then  the  question 
came  up,  What  kind  of  church  should  be  organized — Cumberland 
Presbyterian,  or  Methodist  Episcopal,  South.''  The  number  of  mem- 
bers was  nearly  equally  divided  between  the  two.  The  Rev.  George 
W.  Love,  a  minister  in  the  latter  church,  very  .generously  proposed 
that  all  should  unite  in  the  organization  of  a  Cumberland  Presbyterian 
church.  The  Rev.  C.  B.  Hodges,  a  Cumberland  Presbyterian  minister, 
was  sent  for,  and,  on  the  i6th  day  of  July,  1S65,  the  organization  was 
eftected,  and  the  names  of  fifty-four  members  were  enrolled.  Five 
elders  were  elected,  and  Mr.  Love  was  selected  pastor  temporarily.  He 
and  Mr.  Hodges  alternately  and  conjointly  occupied  the  pulpit  until  the 
fall  of  1866,  during  which  time  two  extensive  revivals  of  religion  were 
enjoyed,  in  which  many  souls  were  converted  and  added  to  the  church. 
A  large  and  flourishing  Sabbath-school  has  been  in  successful  operation 
ever  since  the  organization  of  the  church. 

On  the  38th  of  October,  1866, 1  took  charge  of  the  church,  devoting 
all  my  time  to  its  interests.  On  the  15th  of  December,  1867,  a  new  and 
beautiful  brick  edifice,  built  entirely  by  the  liberality  of  our  own  church 


Chapter  XLVIIL]  NEW   FiELDS.  615 

and  some  friends  in  the  city,  was  dedicated.  But  many  of  our  mem- 
bers from  Missouri  were  here  only  temporarily,  so  that  by  the  time  we 
entered  the  new  church,  although  about  one  hundred  had  been  added 
since  the  organization,  we  were  reduced  to  about  fifty.  Soon  after 
entering  the  new  church  we  were  blessed  with  a  powerful  work  of 
grace,  and  quite  a  number  were  added  to  the  membership. 

A  sketch  written  in  1886  by  another  faithful  worker  in  this 
field  gives  some  of  the  same  facts,  but  in  different  connections: 

During  the  late  civil  war,  many  persons  from  Missouri  and  other 
border  States  came  to  Nebraska.  Among  these  were  some  Cumber- 
land Presbyterians.  Russell,  Majors  &  Co.,  the  noted  overland  freight- 
ers, had  established  their  headquarters  in  Nebraska  City.  Mr.  Majors, 
being  a  Cumberland  Presbyterian,  and  well  acquainted  in  Missouri,  had 
induced  some  ministers  of  that  denomination  to  locate  here.  Among 
these  were  Robert  Renick,  C.  B.  Hodges,  James  G.  Dalton,  and  Martin 
Hughes.  A  large,  two-story  frame  building  had  been  erected  by  Mr. 
Majors  for  a  store-room.  This  building  was  used  also  as  a  place  of 
worship  by  the  few  scattered  members  of  our  church  in  the  city. 

Here  a  series  of  meetings  was  held,  resulting  in  a  revival.  Some 
time  afterward  it  was  decided  to  organize  a  church.  On  the  i6th  day 
of  July,  1S65,  the  first  Cumberland  Presbyterian  church  was  organized 
by  Rev.  C.  B.  Hodges.  The  Rev.  G.  W.  Love  became  pastor,  but  was 
soon  followed  by  the  Rev.  C.  B.  Hodges,  who  was  very  efficient  in 
building  up  the  church  during  his  six  months'  pastorate. 

In  the  spring  of  1866,  Rev.  R.  S.  Reed,  of  Salem,  Illinois,  accepted 
a  call  from  this  church,  and  entered  upon  his  work  on  the  aSth  of  Octo- 
ber the  same  year.  Under  his  management  the  church  prospered 
greatly,  both  in  its  spiritual  and  financial  interests.  A  beautiful  house 
of  worship  was  erected  on  the  corner  of  Tenth  and  Laramie  streets, 
and  dedicated  December,  1S67.  The  work  on  this  building  was  begun 
the  first  year  of  Mr.  Reed's  pastorate.  In  October,  1869,  after  three 
years  of  faithful  service,  he  resigned. 

In  November,  1869,  the  Rev.  J.  B.  Green,  of  Kentucky,  took  charge 
of  this  church.  During  his  pastorate,  the  work  so  well  begun  by  his 
predecessor  has  gone  steadily  on.  There  has  been  no  change  of  pastor 
since  1869.  For  a  number  of  years  this  congregation  has  been  on  a 
sound  financial  basis,  and  out  of  debt.  The  Sunday-school  was  organ- 
ized in  July,  1865,  and  has  prospered  from  the  first,  doing  a  good  work. 

Some  time  after  the  organization  of  the  Nebraska  City  church,  a 
congregation  was  organized  near  Brownsville,  Nemaha  County.  After 
a  few  years  it  built  a  good  brick  house  of  worship.     This  church  has 


6i6  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  vi. 

had  several  pastors,  and  is  now  under  the  care  of  the  Rev.  B.  J.  John- 
son. Eight  or  ten  years  ago,  a  congregation,  known  as  the  Weeping 
Water  church,  was  estabHshed  in  Cass  County.  Some  of  its  members 
had  been  connected  with  the  Nebraska  City  church.  This  congrega- 
tion has  recently  been  merged  into  a  new  one,  and  is  now  known  as  the 
Factoryville  church.  A  few  years  ago  this  church  erected  a  neat  frame 
meeting-house,  and  now  holds  services  twice  each  Sabbath.  The  Rev. 
R.  F.  Powell  is  the  pastor. 

Later  a  congregation,  first  known  as  Harmony,  was  formed  six  miles 
west  of  Nebraska  City.  This  organization  was  finally  moved  to  the 
village  of  Dunljar,  and  it  is  now  known  as  the  Dunbar  church.  Its 
members  have  built  a  substantial  frame  house,  and  services  are  held  each 
Sabbath.  The  Rev.  R.  A.  Williams  is  now  its  pastor.  Two  or  thi'ee 
other  smaller  congregations  have  been  organized  more  recently. 

All  Nebraska  was  formerly  included  in  the  Leavenworth  Presby- 
tery, and  in  the  Missouri  Synod.  In  1S73  Leavenworth  Presbytery 
was  divided  and  the  Nebraska  Presbytery  formed.  The  first  meeting 
of  this  new  presbytery  was  held  at  Harmony  church  on  the  6th  day  of 
March,  1S73.  Rev.  J.  B.  Green  was  the  first  moderator.  The  following 
ministers  composed  the  presbytery:  B.  J.  Johnson,  J.  B.  Green,  I.  Wayne 
Snovvden,  J.  C.  Hamilton,  and  Aniasa  Rippetoe.  Four  congregations 
were  represented  at  this  meeting. 

The  missionary  operations  in  this  State  have  been  mainly  supported 
by  home  contributions.  But  little  help  has  ever  been  received.  The 
Board  of  Missions  has  never  had  a  missionary  or  a  mission  in  this  State. 
Rev.  R.  F.  Powell,  under  appointment  from  the  board,  labored  for  a 
few  months,  but  his  work  was  mostly  confined  to  Kansas.  The  denom- 
ination has  lost  much  in  not  giving  more  attention  to  this  important 
territory.  The  Nebraska  City  congregation  was  never  a  mission  church, 
but  has  been  self-sustaining  from  its  organization. 

At  the  Assembly  of  1886,  the  Nebraska  Presbytery  reported  six 
ordained  ministers,  thirteen  churches,  four  hundred  and  seventy- 
eight  members,  and  four  hundred  and  eighty-eight  pupils  in  the 
Sunday-schools. 

WASHINGTON  TERRITORY. 

In  1872,  the  Rev.  H.  W.  Eagan  went  to  the  new  Territory  of 
Washington.  Without  assistance  from  the  Board  of  Missions  he 
began  his  labors  at  the  town  of  Walla  Walla.  W^ith  no  house  of 
worship,  no  organized  congregation,  and  no  private  estate  to  rely 
on,  he  determined  to  cast  himself  upon  the  Lord  for  support,  and 
give  himself  to  the  ministr)'  among  the  pioneers.     He  preached 


Chapter  XLVIII.]  NEW  FlELDS.  617 

faithfully,  and  God  put  it  into  the  hearts  of  the  people  to  furnish 
him  a  temporal  support.  A  working  congregation  was  gathered, 
and  a  good  church  house  built  and  paid  for.  When  this  faithful 
pioneer  was  no  longer  able  to  meet  the  growing  demands  of  the 
work,  an  appeal  was  made  to  the  Board  of  Missions  for  assistance. 
In  answer  to  this  call,  the  Rev.  W.  W.  Beck  was,  in  1886,  com- 
missioned and  sent  to  Walla  Walla  as  missionary.  To  the  General 
Assembly  that  year,  this  church  reported  sixty  resident  and  sixty- 
six  non-resident  members,  and  church  property  valued  at  five  thou- 
sand dollars. 

The  Rev.  A.  W.  Sweeny  has  spent  most  of  his  life  in  the  far 
West.  In  one  of  his  letters,  written  in  1874,  and  published  in  the 
church  paper,  we  get  a  glimpse  of  his  work  in  Washington  Terri- 
tory.    Describing  one  of  his  meetings,  he  says: 

The  Rev.  H.  W.  Eagan,  of  Walla  Walla,  came  on  Monday.  That 
night  a  large  number  of  the  anxious  came  forward.  Some  were  con- 
verted every  night  during  the  week.  The  second  Sabbath  came.  At 
night  fifty-five  came  to  the  altar.  We  could  not  close  the  meeting. 
We  were  there  the  next  Sabbath.  At  night  forty-five  were  at  the  altar, 
and  there  were  eleven  professions.  So  we  spent  two  weeks  at  that 
meeting.  Certainly  there  had  never  been  before,  in  this  part  of  the 
country,  such  a  deep  religious  interest  felt. 

The  same  letter  shows  how  these  pioneer  missionaries  went  forth, 
trusting  God  for  a  support.     Mr.  Sweeny  says: 

The  Rev.  E.  P.  Henderson  and  myself  visited  Waitsburg  and  held 
a  meeting,  two  years  ago  last  September  and  October.  He  remained 
until  spring  with  the  little  congregation  which  we  organized  here.  I 
then  took  charge  of  it.  I  was  alone,  bishop,  circuit  rider,  preacher, 
and  exhorter.  In  the  fall  Brother  Eagan  came.  God  sent  him.  I  gave 
him  part  of  my  field.  Forty  dollars  a  year  was  all  the  salary  that  he  or 
I  positively  knew  of.  God  has  supported  him.  He  has  not  lacked  for 
any  thing.  The  Rev.  R.  H.  Wills  came  recently.  I  turned  over  to 
his  support  all  but  three  of  my  contributing  members  of  Waitsburg 
congregation.  The  way  looks  dark.  What  are  we  to  do  .''  A  question 
often  asked,  and  easily  answered.  Go  forward,  trust  in  God,  and  he 
will  open  the  way.  The  additions  at  our  camp-meeting  will  make  up 
my  loss  by  dividing  with  Brother  Wills.  I  am  slowly  learning  to  "have 
faith  in  God."  At  Brother  Eagan's  basket  meeting  with  his  country 
congregation  there  were  nine  additions.  So  you  see  we  have  encour- 
agement in  this  new  country.     God  be  pi'aised! 


6i8  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.      [Period  vi. 

We  now  (1887)  have  in  Washington  Territor)-  one  presbytery, 
the  Walla  Walla,  with  twelve  ordained  preachers,  four  candidates 
for  the  ministry,  eleven  congregations,  six  hundred  members,  and 
five  hundred  pupils  in  the  Sabbath-schools. 

There  are  some  ministers  and  members  of  the  Cumberland 
Presbyterian  church  in  Montana  Territory,  but  no  presbytery  has 
been  formed. 

EVANGELISTS. 

In  the  last  twenty  years,  not  only  in  the  Cumberland  Presbyte- 
rian church,  but  throughout  all  Christendom,  the  work  of  evan- 
gelists, both  lay  and  clerical,  has  been  among  the  wonderful  things 
connected  with  religious  activity  and  development.  We  have  had 
our  full  share  of  those  remarkable  preachers.  There  seems  to  be  a 
special  movement  in  this  direction,  brought  about  by  the  Spirit  of 
the  living  God.  While  there  have  no  doubt  been  abuses,  yet  the 
great  harvest  of  souls  among  those  who  were  ready  to  perish  is  far 
too  precious  to  permit  us  to  doubt  that  God  is  in  this  work.  One 
thing  of  special  value  is  the  use  which  these  evangelists  make  of 
the  Scripture.  This  is  true  pre-eminently  in  the  work  of  our  own 
evangelists,  the  Rev.  R.  G.  Pearson  and  Dixon  C.  Williams. 

One  of  our  aged  ministers  once  traveled  some  distance  to  attend 
the  meetings  of  the  Rev.  R.  J.  Sims,  another  Cumberland  Presby- 
terian evangelist.  There  was  an  immense  congregation.  The 
evangelist  made  a  very  simple,  earnest  address  with  no  loud  tones, 
violent  gestures,  or  exciting  appeals.  The  talk  was  conversa- 
tional, and  in  subdued  accents.  Then  the  speaker  asked  those 
occupying  the  four  pews  in  front  of  the  pulpit  to  vacate  them,  to 
accommodate  the  penitents.  To  the  aged  preacher,  who  sat  behind 
the  evangelist,  this  seemed  a  foolish  proceeding.  "Four  seats  in- 
deed!" thought  he.  "If  one  mourner  comes  forward  it  is  more 
than  I  expect."  The  evangelist  said:  "Let  all  who  want  to  be 
saved  here  to-day  come  quietly  to  these  seats."  In  a  few  moments 
all  the  four  seats  were  filled;  then  four  more  were  called  for  and 
filled;  then  two  more.  The  visiting  preacher  was  amazed — almost 
frightened.  He  continued  with  that  evangelist  a  week,  and  watched 
him  closely,  to  find  out  how  all  this  was  accomplished.  The  first 
day  and  night  he  found  that  the  evangelist  spent  about  six  hours 


Chapter  XLVIIL]  EVANGELISTS.  619 

alone  in  prayer,  and  that  lie  gathered  two  or  three  chosen  ones  to 
join  him  in  short,  special  prayers.  This  was  the  daily  programme. 
The  secret  of  his  success  was  that  God  was  with  him.. 

It  is  true  that  this  evangelistic  work  puts  into  the  hands  of  the 
pastors  greatly  increased  labors  in  organizing  and  training  converts. 
But  this  is  not  a  valid  objection.  It  would  be  inconsistent  in  par- 
ents to  object  to  their  children  being  coi^verted  in  early  life,  because 
the  duty  of  training  the  little  believers  rests  upon  fathers  and 
mothers,  and  involves  much  prayer  and  patient  labor;  hardly  less 
inconsistent  is  it  for  pastors  to  object  to  the  sudden  conversion  of 
large  numbers  in  their  congregations.  Would  it  be  better  to  risk 
the  eternal  loss  of  all  these  souls  than  to  have  the  pastor's  labors 
and  embarrassments  multiplied  ? 

In  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  church  this  modern  method  of 
evangelistic  work  began  in  1873.  For  several  years  our  people  had 
just  one  evangelist  at  large.  He  visited  nearly  all  the  States  in 
which  the  church  had  a  membership,  spending  twelve  years  in  this 
work.  His  was  purely  a  life  of  faith,  so  far  as  the  support  of  his 
family  was  concerned.  He  had  no  assurance  of  compensation,  no 
contract  with  man,  and  no  private  means  of  his  own;  but  neither 
he  nor  his  family  suffered  for  any  of  the  necessaries  of  life.  Such 
a  life  of  trust  brings  a  laborer  into  closer  relations  with  God  than 
any  other  life.  It  by  no  means  includes  the  neglect  of  teaching 
the  people  their  duty  about  money.  In  1880  the  church  had 
twelve  of  these  evangelists  at  large — men  who  "reported  only  to 
God."  This  does  not  include  ministers  sent  out  by  synods  or  pres- 
byteries. 

Lay  evangelists  were  a  part  of  the  original  machinery'  of  the 
Cumberland  Presbyterian  church.  At  first  these  were  selected  and 
commissioned  by  the  presbytery,  choice  being  made  of  men  who 
had  shown  some  fitness  for  the  work.  Of  late  years  this  custom 
had  fallen  into  desuetude.  One  little  experiment  on  the  old  plan, 
which  was  made  a  few  years  ago  by  Bethel  Presbytery,  in  the 
Choctaw  country,  was  thus  described  at  the  time  by  the  Rev.  W. 
S.  Langdon  in  the  Banner  of  Peace  : 

Some  time  since  the  Rev.  I.  Folsoni  furnished  an  account  of  the 
proceedings  of  Bethel  Presbytery.     The  business  was  conducted  in  the 


620  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History,       [Period  vi. 

Choctaw  language.  It  seems  to  have  been  a  very  spiritual  meeting,  and 
resulted  in  much  immediate  good.  One  item  that  I  did  not  notice  when 
I  first  read  it,  now  stril-:es  me  more  forcibly  than  any  thing  else  in  the 
record.  This  is  probably  because  the  subject  is  one  that  has  occupied 
my  thoughts  a  great  deal  recently.  Here  is  the  item  :  "  During  the 
meeting  of  the  presbytery,  loud  Macedonian  cries  came  up  from  differ- 
ent parts  of  the  Nation.  At  first  we  w-ere  utterly  at  a  loss  to  know  what 
to  do,  as  we  had  more  fields  already  than  we  were  able  to  supply,  and 
as  some  of  us  were  advanced  in  years,  and  were  becommg  infirm.  For 
some  time  we  remained  silent,  in  deep,  prayerful  reflections.  So,  on  the 
following  day,  after  asking  counsel  of  God,  the  presbytery  determined 
to  send  forth  the  elders  and  deacons,  and  appoint  exhorters  to  go  and 
read  the  holy  Scriptures  to  the  people,  sing  and  pray  with  them,  and 
exhort  in  their  meetings,  until  ministers  could  go  round  and  baptize  con- 
verts and  organize  them  into  churches  according  to  the  apostolic  usage." 

Here,  I  think,  we  have  a  perfect  copy  of  the  "Apostolic  usage." 
Our  Indian  brethren  have  taken  a  step  in  the  right  direction,  and  have 
set  their  white  brethren  an  examj^le  that  it  would  be  well  for  them  to 
consider.  Has  not  the  Christian  church  departed  from  the  plan  of 
ministerial  labor  and  church  extension  devised  by  the  great  Head  of 
the  chuixh  ? 

For  three  hundred  years  the  disciples  and  their  successors  operated 
upon  a  plan  similar  to  that  set  forth  in  this  extract  from  the  proceedings 
of  this  Choctaw  Presbytery.  They  went  forth  and  preached,  organizing 
churches,  administering  sacraments,  and  ordaining  elders.  Then  they 
proceeded  to  some  other  place,  leaving  the  new  church  members  to 
conduct  their  own  services.  These  services  were  very  different  from 
those  held  in  the  churches  in  this  day.  Then  they  met  to  study  the 
Scriptures  and  learn  what  their  duties  were,  and  inquire  what  was  the 
will  of  God  concerning  them.  Their  meetings  were  religious  sociables. 
It  was  the  privilege  of  every  member  to  take  part,  under  the  rules  pre- 
scribed by  the  apostles.  Once  in  a  while  some  of  the  ministers  came 
round,  and  corrected  any  errors  into  which  the  converts  had  fallen, 
preaching  to  them  and  strengthening  them  by  words  of  counsel.  The 
people  were  thus  aided  and  encouraged  in  their  religious  work,  and  they 
helped  the  preacher  in  his. 

The  error  of  the  ministry  for  fifteen  hundred  years  has  been  that  it 
has  taken  the  work  of  Bible-readings,  religious  discussion,  and  personal 
exhortation  too  much  out  of  the  hands  of  the  people,  and  substituted 
sermons  instead. 

Lay  preaching,  but  without  presbyterial  appointments,  has  been 
a  prominent  part  of  the  evangelistic  work  of  recent  years.     Among 


Chapter  XLVIII.]  PROGRESS.  62 1 

our  own  lay  preachers  are  Dixon  C.  Williams  and  General  A.  P. 
Stewart.  General  Stewart  has  never  abandoned  his  secular  busi- 
ness to  go  out  as  evangelist,  but  has  preached  a  great  deal.  While 
he  was  chancellor  of  the  University  of  Mississippi,  he  spent 
most  of  his  vacations  holding  meetings,  and  these  meetings  were 
owned  of  Heaven,  resulting  in  the  conversion  of  many  souls.  Mr. 
Williams,  familiarly  known  as  "Dixie"  Williams,  gave  up  his 
business  and  his  pleasant  home,  leaving  his  young  wife  and  little 
children  behiufl  him,  in  order  to  devote  his  whole  strength  to 
preaching. 

One  of  our  old  preachers,  who  knew  Williams  from  childhood, 
speaks  thus  of  him  and  his  work: 

When  Dixie  first  became  a  church  member,  his  Ufe  was  a  disap- 
pointment. He  is  of  the  stock  to  which  Thomas  Calhoun  belonged, 
and  I  hoped  he  would  become  a  preacher.  I  was  troubled  to  find 
his  life  not  what  I  hoped  for.  Then  Hammond  came  along,  and  Dixie 
got  worked  over,  and  went  to  holding  meetings  in  the  by-ways  and 
hedges.  I  went  to  hear  him.  I  had  been  all  the  time  thinking  of  my 
former  disappointment.  He  rose,  and,  with  deep  feeling,  made  confes- 
sion about  past  failures,  and  declared  his  fixed  determination,  by  God's 
grace  to  be  what  he  professed — out  and  out  the  Lord's.  He  is  doing 
just  that,  and  the  Lord  is  using  him.  It  is  a  curious  fact  that  both  in 
the  early  and  the  recent  history  of  Cumberland  Presbyterians,  our  most 
successful  preachers  have  been  Christians  worked  over. 

Many  of  our  evangelists  prefer  the  plan  of  "reporting  only  to 
God,"  and  never  publish  any  accounts  of  their  meetings.  It  is, 
therefore,  not  easy  to  obtain  details  of  their  work. 

OUR  DENOMINATIONAL  PROGRESS. 

In  1810  there  were  three  Cumberland  Presbyterian  preachers ; 
no  churches.  In  1812  we  had  eight  preachers  and  thirty-three 
congregations.  In  1829  there  were  eighteen  presbyteries,  and  a 
General  Assembly  was  organized.  The  number  of  ministers  and 
churches  at  that  time  is  unknown.  In  1842  there  were  fifty-three 
presbyteries;  other  statistics  unknown.  In  i860  the  church  had 
ninety-seven  presbyteries,  and  not  less  than  fifteen  chartered  col- 
leges. The  total  membership  was  estimated  at  one  hundred  thou- 
sand, twenty  thousand  of  whom  were  colored  people.     In  1887, 


623  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  vi. 

notwitlistanding  the  loss  of  all  its  colored  members  and  ministers, 
the  church  had  one  hundred  and  nineteen  presbyteries,  fifteen  hun- 
dred and  sixty-three  ministers,  two  thousand  five  hundred  and  forty 
congregations,  and  over  a  hundred  and  forty-five  thousand  members. 
The  small  number  of  candidates  for  the  ministry  and  licentiates 
— less  than  one  third  the  number  of  ordained  ministers — is  a  dis- 
couraging feature  in  our  recent  denominational  statistics.  The  old- 
time  plan  of  going  to  God  with  fasting  and  prayer,  and  asking  him 
to  call  more  men  to  the  work  of  the  ministry  should  be  revived. 
There  was  a  time  when  parents  solemnly  asked  the  Lord  to  lead 
their  own  sons  into  this  sacred  calling.  It  would  be  well  if  such 
personal  prayers  were  still  daily  offered  by  parents.  In  nearly 
every  thing  else  our  progress  is  most  hopeful.  In  giving  money 
systematically  to  missions  and  other  church  work  there  is  steady 
and  encouraging  growth.  In  a  few  years  more,  at  the  present  rate 
of  advancement,  our  people  will  not  be  ashamed  of  financial  com- 
parisons. There  is  a  heresy  of  the  pocket  and  the  life  which  is  worse 
than  heresy  in  the  creed.  The  Moravians,  it  is  said,  are  the  freest 
of  all  people  from  this  practical  heresy — this  financial  disloyalty  to 
Jesus.  It  would  be  well  if  a  good  large  Moravian  element  could 
enter  into  our  membership. 

A  most  hopeful  sign  of  progress  is  the  increasing  number  of 
regular  pastors.  A  far  larger  proportion  of  our  congregations  now 
have  permanently  settled  ministers,  giving  their  whole  time  to  the 
work,  than  at  any  former  period.  Another  most  potent  auxiliary 
to  church  progress  is*  the  very  large  circulation  of  the  church  paper. 
Never  before  was  so  large  a  number  of  our  members  reached  through 
our  own  weekly  organ.  If  its  subscription  extended  to  ever}'  family 
in  the  church,  all  our  congregations  and  all  our  enterprises  would 
be  quickened  into  new  life. 

Another  auxiliar\'  to  this  progress  is  the  improved  condition  of 
our  theological  school.  The  encouraging  success  of  the  endow- 
ing agent  gives  promise  that  this  school  will  soon  be  furnished  with 
a  full  faculty,  and  equipped  with  all  needed  facilities  for  its  work.  • 
When  this  is  done,  will  not  Dr.  Beard  bend  over  the  battlements 
of  heaven  and  weep  tears  of  rapture  over  the  realization  of  his 
hopes  and  the  answer  to  his  prayers  ? 


Chapter  XL VIII.]  REFLECTIONS.  623 

Some  comfort  in  our  deficiencies  and  hope  for  our  future  growth 
may  be  derived  from  comparisons.  The  Presbyterian  church  in 
America  in  18 19  was  about  one  hundred  and  fourteen  years  old — 
that  is,  about  thirty-seven  years  older  than  ours  is  to-day.  At  that 
date  it  had,  in  all  America,  eleven  synods  and  fifty-three  presbyte- 
ries. It  had  no  Board  of  Publication  and  no  Board  of  Foreign 
Missions.  Its  Board  of  Domestic  Missions  was  only  two  years  old. 
It  is  true  that  this  slow  progress  may  have  been  caused  in  part  by 
the  revolutionary  war,  and  adverse  influences  in  colonial  times; 
but  there  were  difficulties  and  hindrances  in  the  early  days  of  the 
Cumberland  Presbyterian  church  scarcely  less  embarrassing. 

In  a  letter  written  by  Rev.  John  L.  Dillard,  in  1883,  when  he 
was  over  ninety  years  old,  he  says.  "I  think  the  outlook  of  the  Cum- 
berland Presbyterian  church  is  very  bright.  I  think  increasing 
attention  is  paid  to  experimental  and  spiritual  religion.  So  far  as 
I  can  learn  the  facts,  God  is  greatly  blessing  the  work  of  our  min- 
istry." On  the  subject  of  doctrines,  also,  this  veteran  gives  utter- 
ance to  the  belief  that  our  people  are  maintaining  the  original 
purity  and  soundness  of  the  faith. 

We  have  a  far  larger  number  of  real  scholars  now  than  ever 
before;  but  our  spirituality  will  not  stand  comparison  with  that 
which  once  made  all  our  pulpits  a  blaze  of  fire.  A  young  preacher, 
talking  recently  to  one  of  our  old  men,  used  something  like  these 
words:  "Doctor,  how  is  it  that  so  few  of  our  preachers  ever  have  any 
earnest,  spiritual  conversations  with  each  other.  You  and  Dr.  M. 
are  about  the  only  ministers  I  think  of  now  who  ever  seem  to  de- 
sire such  conversation. ' '  All  this  was  vastly  different  once.  John 
Barnett  used  to  say  that  he  made  it  an  invariable  rule  to  speak  at 
least  a  few  words  for  Jesus  in  every  conversation  he  held  with  his 
fellow-men.  Something  for  Jesus,  some  little  word  for  eternity  in 
every  conversation,  every  letter,  every  visit,  would  make  a  vast  dif- 
ference in  the  aggregate  influence  of  a  life-time. 

GENERAL  REFLECTIONS. 

In  preparing  such  a  history  as  this,  an  author  necessarily  studies 
many  subjects  which  he  can  not  discuss  in  his  book.  The  impres- 
sion on  his  own  mind  is  far  broader  and  deeper  than  that  which 


624  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  vi. 

lie  can  convey  to  his  readers.  Some  few  thoughts  growing  out 
of  these  unrecorded  impressions  are  now  to  be  presented.  Our 
people  will  perhaps  be  startled  by  the  declaration  that  Ewing, 
King,  and  Mcx^dow  were  not  the  first  Cumberland  Presbyterians. 
Yet  in  a  very  important  sense  this  declaration  is  true.  Every  sa- 
cred principle,  for  which  the  men  of  1800  struggled  and  suffered, 
had  been  strusfsrled  for  and  suffered  for  in  the  Presbvterian  church 
of  Scotland  before  any  white  man's  cabin  stood  on  the  soil  of 
Tennessee. 

The  study  of  Hetherington  is  like  reading  over  again  the  his- 
tory of  McGready's  difficulties.  It  was  the  injected  element,  thrust 
by  the  State  into  the  true  Presbyterian  church,  which  opposed  re- 
vivals, which  objected  to  laymen  leading  in  prayer,  which  tram- 
pled down  the  rights  of  presbyteries,  as  Lyle's  synodical  commis- 
sion did.  It  was  the  same  old  struggle,  when  field  meetings  in 
Kentucky  took  on  the  form  they  bore  so  long  ago  in  the  land  of 
our  forefathers.  The  same  old  struggle  between  a  hide-bound 
fatality  and  a  liberalized  Calvinism  had  sprung  up  in  almost  every 
revival  the  Presbyterians  of  past  generations  ever  had.  The  same 
struggle  to  reach  the  perishing  masses,  without  being  held  back  by 
conditional  red  tape,  had  involved  revival  Presbyterians  in  contro- 
versies long  before  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  church  was  born. 

Oar  church  was  raised  up  to  be  the  conservator  of  evangelical, 
liberal  Presbyterianism. 

The  first  Cumberland  Presbyterian  preachers  all  belonged  to 
the  Scotch-Irish  race.  They  were  soldiers'  sons,  ecclesiastically, 
and  they  felt  bound  to  walk  erect,  but  none  the  less  were  they  gen- 
uine Presbyterians.  Their  true  kinsmen,  ecclesiastically,  must 
ever  be  sought  in  the  liberal  party  of  the  Presbyterian  church. 
There  have  always  been  two  schools  or  shades  of  doctrine  among 
Calvinists.  Of  later  years  there  are  many  minor  shades,  but  even 
in  the  Westminster  Assembly  there  were  two  shades  of  doctrine. 
Our  doctrines  are  no  new  element  in  Presbyterianism.  There  has 
been  a  scarlet  thread  of  the  same  sort  running  through  the  whole 
woof  from  the  first.  The  doctrine  of  grace,  a  belief  in  the  divine 
influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit  extending  to  all  hearts,  and  the  divine 
longing  for  the  salvation  of  all  lost  sinners,  has  in  every  age  been 


Chapter  XLVIII.]  REFLECTIONS.  625 

found  in  the  church.  When  liberal  Calvinists  work  in  revivals, 
they  become  practically  Cumberland  Presbyterians.  We  have  not 
even  added  any  new  measures,  except  it  be  camp-meetings.  Itin- 
erant evangelism,  and  even  lay  evangelism  were  among  the  earliest 
measures  adopted  by  the  revival  party  in  the  Scotch  Presbyterian 
church. 

Our  church  is  a  conservator  of  the  best  and  holiest  elements  of 
revival  Presb}-terianism.  The  mother  church  is  our  debtor  in  these 
things.  We  are  her  debtor,  too,  in  many  things.  From  the  lib- 
eral element  in  her  doctrines  our  theology  is  derived — the  Bible 
system,  which  makes  salvation  the  gift  of  God,  while  it  makes 
death  the  wasfcs  of  sin.  We  are  indebted  to  her  for  our  whole 
system  of  church  government,  and  for  that  revival  policy  which 
rests  on  God's  truth  and  God's  Holy  Spirit  given  in  answer  to 
prayer,  and  not  on  any  human  device.  We  are  also  indebted  to 
her  for  the  s}-stem  of  settled  pastorates.  Though  it  was  impossible 
for  our  preachers  and  congregations  to  adopt  this  system  at  first, 
we  have  ever  clung  to  it  in  theory,  and  are  now  struggling  to  estab- 
lish it  throughout  the  denomination. 

We  owe  the  mother  church  a  large  debt  also  in  the  matter  of 
ministerial  education.  Even  the  abuse  and  misrepresentations  of 
our  methods  and  policy  by  some  of  her  writers  did  us  great  service. 
That  some  of  our  presbyteries  had  drifted  into  laxness  can  not  be 
called  in  question,  but  the  v/orthy  example  of  the  Presbyterian 
church  through  her  whole  history  has  all  the  while  been  calling  us 
to  higher  things.  Her  schools  and  her  literature  have  been  trumpet 
voices  in  our  hearing.  Above  all  else  her  theological  schools  have 
been  precious  examples  to  our  people.  Cumberland  Presbyterians, 
in  their  efforts  to  make  their  seminar}^  all  that  it  should  be,  find 
great  help  in  the  history  of  similar  institutions  built  by  Presbyte- 
rians. When  our  young  men  have  sought  better  facilities  than  our 
own  school  could  furnish,  they  have  nearly  always  gone  to  the 
schools  of  liberal  Calvinists — seldom  or  never  to  those  of  the  Meth- 
odists.    The  number  of  such  young  men  has  been  very  large. 

Our  natural  and  historic  affinities  are  with  the  Reformed  churches. 
We  have  taken  our  place  in  the  Presbyterian  Alliance;  now,  let  us 
maintain  it.  If  there  are  driftings  in  another  direction  they  prom- 
40 


626  Cumberland  Presuvterian  History.       [Period  vi. 

ise  no  good  to  our  cause.  Let  us  hold  to  our  anchorage.  Let  us 
clint>-  to  the  system  of  doctrine  which  has  been  so  blessed  of  Heaven 
in  our  denominational  career.  Let  us  have  done  with  the  battles 
about  decrees.  Fatality  is  nowhere  preached  now.  There  is  no 
use  in  forever  fighting  it.  Organization,  drill,  work,  missions, 
progress,  souls  immortal,  are  the  prizes  now  to  be  struggled  for; 
and  in  most  of  this  work  the  Presbyterian  church  will  furnish 
models  for  our  imitation. 


Chapter  XLIX.]  ANECDOTES.  627 


CHAPTER    XLIX. 


ANECDOTES. 

Be  noble  !  and  the  nobleness  that  lies 
In  other  men,  sleeping,  but  never  dead, 
Will  rise  in  majesty  to  meet  thine  own. 

— Lozvell. 

THE  sources  from  which  these  anecdotes  are  derived  are  the 
church  papers,  and  manuscript  accounts  written  by  eye-wit- 
nesses. The  incidents  described  in  the  manuscripts  are  so  numer- 
ous that  it  is  impossible  to  put  them  all  in  this  short  chapter. 
Selections  have  been  made  of  such  only  as  give  the  greatest  prom- 
ise of  usefulness.  These  anecdotes  belong  to  all  periods  of  the 
church's  history.  We  begin  the  list  with  those  dating  farthest 
back,  but  are  not  careful  to  preserve  any  exact  chronological  order 
afterward. 

ANECDOTE   OF   MRS.    SAMUEL   KING. 

The  v/ife  of  Rev.  Samuel  King  was  a  daughter  of  Joseph  Dixon, 
of  the  Presbyterian  church.  Her  son,  the  Rev.  R.  D.  King,  pub- 
lished the  following  anecdote  of  his  mother.  The  scene  of  this 
incident  was  ]\Irs.  King's  girlhood's  home,  in  the  wilds  of  Ten- 
nessee. The  people  were  exposed  to  attacks  from  hostile  savages, 
and  every  settlement  had  its  fort: 

On  one  occasion,  early  in  the  morning,  something  attracted  Mr. 
Dixon's  attention  in  the  direction  of  the  fort  to  which  he  helonged. 
He  immediately  took  his  rifle  in  his  hand,  and  cautiously  proceeded 
about  one  hundred  or  one  hundred  and  fifty  yards  from  the  door  of  his 
cabin.  His  manner  was  so  unusual  as  to  attract  little  Anna's  attention. 
She  stood  in  the  door  watching  her  father  with  a  throbbing  heart, 
though  she  knew  not  why.  Suddenly  a  band  of  savage  warriors 
sprang  from  where  they  had  been  concealed,  and,  in  a  moment,  Joseph 
Dixon  lay  a  corpse. 

The  savages,  with  hideous  3'ells,  rushed  for  the  house.  Anna's  only 
safety  now  lay  in  flight.     She  determined  to  reach  the  fort,  which  was 


628  CUMBKRLAND   PrESBYTKRIAN    HiSTORY.         [Period  VI. 

six  miles  distant.  Willi  a  sagacity  and  determination  that  far  surpassed 
her  years,  she  commenced  her  flight.  Soon  she  heard  the  band  of  sav- 
ages yelling  behind  her;  but  she  evaded  them,  and  after  a  while  all  but 
one  of  the  Indians  ceased  their  pursuit.  The  race  between  the  two  at 
last  became  a  silent  race  for  life,  in  which  a  child  in  her  twelfth  year 
fled  from  a  young  athletic  warrior.  Often  the  blood-thirsty  pursuer 
would  hurl  his  tomahawk  with  all  his  power,  at  his  intended  victim;  yet 
each  time  it  fell  harmless,  not  at  her  feet,  but  far  beyond  her. 

As  they  approached  the  fort,  the  man  who  was  on  guard  saw  the 
race  and  threw  open  the  gate.  Just  as  the  little  girl  sprang  in,  the 
cruel  and  determined  savage  poised  himself  steadily,  and  as  the  last 
fearful  act  of  his  life,  hurled  his  tomahawk  at  her  as  she  lay  Glinting 
from  exhaustion.  But,  as  before,  the  weapon  missed  its  aim,  and  fell 
far  beyond  her.  At  the  report  of  the  sentinel's  rifle,  the  pursuer  fell 
dead  twenty  or  twenty-five  steps  from  the  gate  of  the  fort. 

A   TIMELY   ARRIVAL. 

The  Rev.  Le  Roy  Woods  published  the  following  incident  con- 
nected with  the  history  of  the  church  in  Pennsylvania: 

Morgan's  health,  never  very  robust,  had,  by  travel  and  incessant 
labor,  become  very  much  impaired,  and  he  had  arranged  to  leave  Penn- 
sylvania for  the  South  at  the  close  of  the  Waynesburg  meeting.  Aston 
remained  in  Washington  County.  This  would  leave  Bryan  alone.  De- 
cember had  come,  the  cold  was  becoming  intense,  and  Morgan  had  to 
leave.  The  hearts  of  these  two  men,  ^lorgan  and  Bryan,  had  become 
knit  together  as  the  hearts  of  Jonathan  and  David.  The  idea  of  being 
separated,  especially  at  this  time,  was  very  painful.  It  had  been 
arranged  that  they  should  spend  the  night  together  at  the  house  of  a 
Mr.  Jennings,  one  mile  out  of  Waynesburg,  and  that  one  of  them 
should  preach  in  this  private  residence.  The  religious  interest  was  still 
very  deep,  and  at  an  early  hour  the  house  was  filled.  Every  room  was 
crowded;  the  hall  and  the  stairway  were  packed  with  people,  anxious 
to  hear.  Morgan  was  too  ill  to  sit  up,  and  was  compelled  to  leave  the 
room,  and  lie  on  a  bed  up-stairs.     Bryan  was  expected  to  preach. 

Just  before  service  began  a  stranger  came  to  the  gate.  His  clothing 
and  appearance  indicated  that  he  was  a  traveler  on  a  long  journey. 
His  apparel  was  rather  plain  and  somewhat  worn.  He  was  evidently 
suffering  from  the  severe  cold,  and  the  fatigue  of  the  day's  travel.  He 
inquired  for  the  Rev.  A.  M.  Bryan.  Who  was  this  stranger  ?  What 
was  he,  and  what  did  he  want  with  the  minister  ?  These  thoughts 
passed  through  the  minds  of  all,  and  all  were  anxious  for  an  explana- 
tion. 


Chapter  XLIX.]  ANECDOTES.  629 

Bryan  came  to  the  door.  One  g.lance  at  the  stranger,  and  in  an  in- 
stant he  was  at  the  gate,  grasping  the  hand  of  the  new-comer,  and  bid- 
ding him  to  alight  and  come  in.  He  then  introduced  him  as  his  dear 
friend  and  fellow-laborer  from  Kentucky,  the  Rev.  Milton  Bird.  Bryan 
was  relieved;  Bird  would  preach.  Bryan  ran  up  stairs  to  tell  Moro-an 
that  Bird  had  come  just  at  a  time  when  help  was  indispensable.  They 
both  wept  for  joy,  thanking  God  and  taking  courage.  Bryan  would  not 
now  be  left  alone. 

Morgan  was  too  ill  to  come  down  to  take  part  in  the  service.  He 
was  intensely  anxious  to  hear  the  man  who  was  to  take  his  place  when 
he  was  gone.  He  said:  "  1  listened  closely,  but  I  heard  but  little  of  the 
prayer;  I  was  disappointed,  I  felt  discouraged,  I  tried  to  pray  God  to 
help  the  new  preacher.  The  first  part  of  the  sermon  I  lost  entirely.  I 
grew  more  despondent.  But  as  the  discourse  progressed,  and  the 
speaker  began  to  warm  with  his  subject,  I  could  hear  an  occasional  sen- 
tence. I  was  favorably  impressed.  As  he  pr.oceeded,  and  I  began  to 
hear  more  distinctly,  I  became  more  deeply  interested.  I  found  myself 
sitting  on  the  side  of  the  bed.  In  that  position  I  could  hear  every  sen- 
tence, and  my  feelings  became  more  deeply  enlisted.  I  went  to  the 
head  of  the  stairway;  I  was  delighted.  There  was  thought,  there  was 
reason,  there  was  the  Bible,  there  was  logic  in  every  sentence.  His 
words  were  falling  like  burning  coals  on  the  hearts  and  consciences  of 
his  hearers.  The  close  was  a  most  happy  one.  I  went  back  to  my  bed, 
weeping  tears  of  joy,  and  feeling  that  our  cause  was  safe  in  the  hands 
of  such  men  as  Bryan  and  Bird." 

A   QUARREL  SETTLED   BY   A   SONG. 
The  following  was  also  published  by  the  Rev.  Le  Roy  Woods: 

On  a  certain  occasion,  when  a  large  congregation  was  assembled  to 
hear  Mr.  Bryan  preach,  a  dispute  arose  between  the  Presbyterians  and 
our  people,  in  reference  to  which  were  entitled  to  the  use  of  the  house 
at  a  certain  hour.  Many  present  forgot  the  proprieties  of  the  time  and 
place,  and  the  controversy  became  very  hot  and  unchristian  in  spirit. 
In  the  midst  of  their  wrangling  and  contention,  Mr.  Bryan  rose  up  in 
the  pulpit  and  began  to  sing,  in  a  clear,  solemn  voice  the  hymn. 

Amazing  grace!  how  sweet  the  sound, 
That  saved  a  wretch  like  me. 

The  effect  was  wonderful.  Before  the  first  stanza  was  completed, 
the  storm  of  passion  was  stilled,  and  all  were  silent.  Before  "the  sweet 
singer"  had  completed  the  closing  lines, 

And  God  who  called  me  here  below 
Shall  be  forever  mine, 


630  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  vi. 

tears  in  many  eyes  proclainied  the  deep  emotion  of  the  audience.  At 
the  close  of  the  hymn,  the  difficulty  was  amicably  and  lovingly  adjusted, 
and  the  two  denominations  continued  to  occupy  the  house  with  uninter- 
rupted good  feeling  and  harmony. 

CONQUERED   BY   KINDNESS. 

This  camp-meeting  anecdote  was  published  in  one  of  the  church 
papers : 

Once  at  a  camp-meeting,  before  the  first  service  coini'ncnced,  a 
huckster  wagon  drove  up.  The  man  had  given  great  trouble  at  a  meet- 
ing held  by  members  of  another  denomination  a  few  weeks  before,  and 
had  been  fined  heavily  for  disturbing  religious  worship.  The  Rev.  J.  Af. 
Berry  proposed  that  all  the  preachers  and  people  present  should  visit  the 
huckster  in  a  body.  This  plan  was  adopted,  and  Mr.  Berry  began  a 
friendly  conversation  with  the  huckster.  The  man  stated  that  he  did 
not  wish  to  create  any  disturbance,  and  that  he  did  not  sell  intoxicating 
hquor.  !Mr.  Berry  said  "  Our  intention  is  to  worship  God."  He  pointed 
out  the  good  effects  of  religion.  "Now,"  said  he  to  the  huckster,  "if 
you  intend  to  do  no  harm,  but  wish  to  do  good,  will  you  not  jiromise 
us  that  you  will  attend  preaching  when  we  do,  and,  when  the  services 
are  not  going  on,  supply  those  who  wish  to  purchase  any  thing  you 
have  for  sale?"  "Yes,"  said  he,  "  if  you  will  agree  that  I  may  take  my 
position  near  the  camps,  so  that  I  may  be  in  sight,  should  any  one  be 
disposed  to  disturb  my  W'agon."  This  also  was  agreed  to.  "  But,"  said 
Mr.  Berry,  "the  Sabbath  is  not  our  time,  and  none  of  us  have  the  right 
to  buy  or  sell  on  that  holy  day.  You  will  also  agree  not  to  wound  the 
feelings  of  the  good  people,  and  sin  against  God,  by  keeping  ojDen 
on  the  Sabbath."  The  man  agreed  to  this  also.  He  kept  his  word  in 
every  particular,  and  wept  like  a  child  under  preaching.  On  Sabbath 
he  carried  his  cakes  around  in  armfuls,  and  distributed  them  gratui- 
tously among  the  camp-holders  and  their  children.  On  Monday  morn- 
ing he  left  us.  He  reported  that  Cumberland  Presbyterians  were  all 
gentlemen. 

THROUGH    HEAD    AND    PIEART. 

When  Samuel  j\I.  Aston  was  preaching  in  Pennsylvania  he  visited 
one  of  our  churches  in  which  a  learned  Universalist  had  proved 
too  powerful  in  argument  for  the  session  and  the  pastor.  When 
told  of  the  case,  Aston  replied:  "I  will  shoot  him  through  the 
head  Sunday  morning,  and  through  the  heart  Sunday  night." 
At  the  servdce  Sabbath  morning  Aston' s  sermon  sw^ept  away  all 
the  arguments  of  the  Universalist,  till  he  writhed  and  groaned  in  his 


\ 


Chapter  XLIX.]  ANECDOTES.  63I 

seat.  At  night,  Aston' s  presentation  of  Christ's  dying  love  to  lost 
sinners  melted  the  poor  man  to  tears,  and  won  him  to  a  personal 
trust  in  Christ  alone  for  salvation. 

TARDINESS   CURED, 

The  Rev.  Samuel  M,  Aston  begun  his  labors  with  a  Pennsylvania 
congregation  whose  people  were  rather  noted  for  their  tardiness  in 
attending  the  services.  When  he  had  preached  once  or  twice,  and 
had  discovered  how  slow  the  people  were,  he  announced  that  there 
would  be  services  the  next  Sabbath  at  10:30  o'clock  precisely. 
The  people  did  not  notice,  particularly,  the  emphasis  he  placed  on 
the  last  word.  The  next  Sabbath,  punctual  to  the  minute,  Mr. 
Aston  arose  and  began  the  services,  though  not  more  than  a  dozen 
members  of  his  usually  large  congregation  were  in  attendance. 
His  discourse  was  a  little  shorter  than  usual,  and  his  congregation 
was  dismissed  and  the  people  on  their  way  home  by  11:30  o'clock. 
It  was  ^musing  to  see  the  tardy  worshipers  coming  in.  Some 
arrived  just  as  the  preacher  was  closing  his  discourse,  some  during 
the  last  hymn,  and  some  just  in  time  for  the  benediction;  while 
the  latest  stragglers  met  the  returning  congregation,  and  turned 
homeward  without  reaching  the  church.  On  the  next  Sabbath,  at 
10:30  o'clock  precisely,  the  people  were  all  in  their  seats,  waiting 
for  the  services  to  begin. 

"the  root  of  the  matter." 

Here  is  a  little  picture  of  Dr.  Beard's  as  a  school-boy,  drawn  by 
himself  in  an  article  in  the  Banner  of  Peace.  It  shows  that  if  a 
student  has  "the  root  of  the  matter"  in  him,  he  will  somehow 
find  the  road  to  noble  attainments. 

I  made  up  my  mind  to  preach.  It  was  a  great  trial,  but  I  had,  in  a 
great  measure,  to  "let  the  dead  bury  their  dead."  In  the  course  of  the 
winter  I  had  the  opportunity  of  spending  a  few  weeks  at  what  seemed  a 
good  school.  A  young  man,  who  was  preparing  for  the  Methodist  min- 
istry, was  teaching  in  one  of  our  congregations,  and  I  bought  Murray's 
English  Grammar  and  turned  in  with  him.  His  stock  of  knowledge, 
how^ever,  was  soon  exhausted,  and  I  had  not  learned  much  about  the 
grammar.  But  in  the  following  spring  a  good  old  patriarchal  elder  of 
the  church  heard  of  my  case.  He  lived  within  four  miles  of  one  of  the 
best  schools  in  the  country.     He  proposed   to  board  me  a  few  months 


632  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  vi. 

gratuitously,  if  I  could  stand  the  walk  to  that  school.  I  thought  of 
nothins:  but  beinjj  able  to  stand  it.     A  neiafhborinjj  conjjreeation  made 

&  o  0000 

me  up  seven  dollars  and  a  half  for  the  purchase  of  necessary  books. 
I  bought  Cumming's  Geography  and  Atlas,  Ferguson's  Astronomy 
Abridged,  Watts'  Logic,  and  the  whole  set  of  Murray's  Practical  Ex- 
ercises, Key,  etc.,  and  set  myself  earnestly  to  work  for  the  summer. 
My  reader  will  perhaps  smile,  but  I  can  not  help  it;  this  was  my  liter- 
ary outfit.  I  think  I  had  the  root  of  the  matter  in  me.  I  walked  the 
four  miles  in  the  morning,  and  back  in  the  evening,  over  a  hilly  road, 
day  in  and  day  out.  I  literally  committed  to  memory  large  portions  of 
Watts'  Logic.  I  studied  every  thing  with  a  mind  to  it;  I  had  crossed 
the  Rubicon;  my  heart  was  upon  the  ministry.  I  did  a  good  work  that 
summer.  My  testimonials  from  that  school  are  still  in  my  possession  — 
fifty-three  years  old.  They  were  read  at  the  following  meeting  of  the 
presbytery  by  one  of  the  old  men,  and  pronounced  very  good. 

ANECDOTE   OF  THE   REV.    R.    D.    MORROW. 

One  of  tlie  church  papers  many  years  ago  published  the  follow- 
ing anecdote:  • 

About  the  year  1S20  the  legislature  of  ^Missouri  was  m  session  at 
the  town  of  St.  Charles.  The  Hon.  John  Miller,  a  Cumberland  Pres- 
byterian, was  the  representative  from  Ilow^ard  County.  The  Rev.  Mr. 
R.,  who  was  then  regarded  as  the  giant  of  the  Baptist  church  in  Mis- 
souri, visited  St.  Charles,  and  2:)reached  to  the  legislature  on  this  text: 
"For  I  say  unto  you.  That  except  yom-  righteousness  shall  exceed  the 
righteousness  of  the  scribes  and  Pharisees,  ye  shall  in  no  case  enter  into 
the  kingdom  of  heaven."  The  next  day  the  Hon.  Henry  S.  Guj-er,  of 
St.  Louis,  also  a  member  of  the  legislature,  approached  Mr.  Miller,  and 
criticised  the  sermon,  remarking  that  Mr.  R.'s  views  of  law  were  un- 
sound, and  that,  before  a  competent  jurv,  his  reasoning  could  easily 
be  torn  into  fragments.  Mr.  Miller  replied:  "We  have  a  little  circuit 
rider  up  in  our  country  who  can  2:>reach  law  which  you  can  not  tear  to 
pieces."  A  few  weeks  afterward,  on  returning  to  his  room,  Mr.  Miller 
found  that  his  "little  circuit  rider  " — the  Rev.  R.  D.  ISIorrow — had  called 
to  see  him.  It  w^as  arranged  for  Morrow  to  preach  in  the  Senate  cham- 
ber. Mr.  Miller  took  special  pains  to  notify  Mr.  Guycr  to  attend.  The 
hour  arrived,  and  a  promiscuous  crowd  of  law-makers  and  law^  violaters 
had  assembled.  When  the  preacher  entered  the  door,  and  walked  down 
the  long  aisle  of  the  chamber,  dressed  in  plain  homespun  jeans,  with 
his  saddle-bags  on  his  arm,  all  eyes  were  turned  to  get  a  view  of  !Mr. 
Miller's  circuit  rider.  jSIr.  Morrow's  unprepossessing  appearance  caused 
many  eyes,  among  them  Mr.  Guyer's,  to  be  turned  upon  Mr.  Miller, 


Chapter  XLIX.]  ANECDOTES.  633 

with  an  inquiring  glance,  as  mucli  as  to  say,  "Is  that  your  law 
preacher?"  The  services  proceeded.  Strange  as  it  may  seem,  Mr. 
Morrow,  without  any  kno  ledge  of  what  had  passed  on  the  former 
occasion,  announced  the  sam,  subject  upon  which  Mr.  R.  had  preached. 
In  a  few  minutes  the  audience  was  spell-bound,  and  for  one  hour  many 
hearts  were  made  to  burn  within  them,  while  the  preacher  opened  up 
God's  glorious  plan  of  justification  and  redemption.  Even  Mr.  Guyer 
could  not  refrain  from  emotion;  and  as  they  walked  out  of  the  chamber 
he  said  to  Mr.  Aliller,  "That  law  will  do;  I  can't  pick  any  flaws  in  that 
man's  views  of  law." 

THE    RULING   PASSION   STRONG   IN    DEATH. 

When  the  Rev.  R.  D.  King  lay  dying  the  members  of  his  con- 
gregation resolved  to  visit  him  in  a  body.  King  was  notified  of 
their  coming;  and,  when  his  beloved  flock  were  gathered  around 
him,  he  had  them  bring  him  his  Bible  and  prop  him  up  in  bed. 
Taking  a  text,  he  then  proceeded  to  preach  them  a  sermon.  The 
voice  was  feeble;  the  body  was  sinking  into  the  grave;  but  his  soul 
was  filled  watli  God's  Spirit;  and  an  unconverted  woman  that  day, 
in  that  chamber  of  the  dying  saint,  found  Jesus  and  salvation.  He 
had  been  in  the  ministry  sixty-two  years,  and  winning  souls  had 
been  his  riiling  passion  through  all  these  years.  For  that  work  he 
had  patiently  borne  the  most  wonderful  hardships,  and  he  rejoiced 
on  his  death-bed  that  he  had  been  counted  worthy  of  suffering  such 
hardships  for  Christ's  sake.  So,  greatly  to  his  delight,  God  used 
him  even  in  death  in  bringing  one  more  soul  into  everlasting  light. 
O  happy  servant  he  whom  his  Master  finds  thus  watching!  King's 
death  was  at  his  Texas  home,  in  1883.  He  was  then  past  his  three- 
score and  ten,  and  glad  to  meet  his  summons  home  to  heaven. 

COMFORT   THROUGH    FAITHFULNESS.' 

In  Mississippi,  forty  years  ago,  there  was  a  young  lady  who,  in 
her  childhood,  had  professed  conversion,  but  had  afterward  fallen 
into  doubt.  Her  doubts  grew  upon  her,  and  at  the  annual  camp- 
meeting  she  sought  counsel  of  the  preachers  and  other  Christians, 
and  struggled  alone  in  prayer  to  God  for  light  and  comfort.  But 
she   found  no  relief;    the  darkness  was  not   dispelled,  but   grew 

'  This  and  the  following  incident  are  furnished  by  the  Rev.  J.  G.  Boydstun,  of 
Mississippi. 


634  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  vi. 

thicker.  Finally  she  settled  it  in  her  heart  that  she  had  com- 
mitted the  unpardonable  sin,  and  was  hopelessly  lost.  Along  with 
this  conclusion  came  also  the  determination  to  spend  all  the  rest  of 
her  life  in  laboring  to  keep  others  from  falling  into  the  same 
lamentable  condition.  When  the  usual  call  for  mourners  came  at 
the  next  service,  she  began  to  act  on  her  resolution.  Going  to 
a  seat  filled  with  unconverted  young  ladies,  she  told  them  that  she 
was  herself  hopelessly  lost,  but  she  wanted  her  young  friends  to 
escape  so  bitter  a  destiny.  One  of  them  rose  and  went  to  the 
mourner's  bench,  saying  she  felt  as  if  a  lost  spirit  had  been  sent 
from  the  dead  to  warn  her.  Others  followed  her  example.  The 
despairing  messenger  still  went  with  her  warnings  among  the 
young  people,  and  at  last  a  large  number  of  her  associates  were 
among  the  happy  converts.  Then  all  her  doubts  forever  vanished, 
and  from  that  day  slie  has  lived  in  the  sweet  assurance  of  her  own 
salvation. 

ANECDOTE    OF   THE    REV.    F.    M.    FINCHER. 

]\Tany  years  ago  the  Methodists  were  holding  a  camp-meeting 
in  the  neighborhood  where  the  Rev.  F.  M.  Fincher,  of  the  Cum- 
berland Presb\-terian  church,  lived.  The  meetinor  drafr^red  throuofh 
its  allotted  time  without  any  conversions.  The  campers  advised 
the  presiding  elder  to  close  the  meeting.  The  congregation  was  at 
that  time  gathered  in  front  of  "the  stand."  The  elder  asked  IMr. 
Fincher  to  say  a  few  words,  intending  then  to  close  the  meeting. 
Fincher  rose  and  stood  for  some  moments  in  front  of  the  stand, 
silently  weeping.  Then  he  quoted  Jeremiah  ix.  i:  "O  that  my 
head  were  waters,  and  mine  eyes  a  fountain  of  tears,"  and  pro- 
ceeded to  make  an  earnest  exhortation.  The  Holy  Spirit  was 
poured  out;  mourners  were  called;  conversions  followed.  The 
meeting  was  protracted,  and  was  given  over  almost  entirely  into 
Fincher' s  hands.  There  was  a  great  spiritual  victory  whose  fruits 
still  abide. 

]Mr.  Fincher  and  the  Rev.  John  Nicholson,  of  the  same  presby- 
tery, were  comrades  in  toil,  and  their  labors  were  often  blessed  with 
gracious  results  similar  to  those  just  described.  To  this  day  the 
people  of  Mississippi  remember  a  sermon  preached  by  Nicholson, 
when  he  was  so  worn  down  with  toil  that  he  could  scarcely  stand 


Chapter  XLIX.]  ANECDOTES.  635 

on  his  feet.  Ever}'  sentence  from  his  lips  went  like  an  arrow  to 
the  people's  hearts.  At  the  close  of  that  wonderful  sermon  a  little 
boy  led  the  prayer,  and  people  said  it  was  an  angel's  voice  pleadino- 
for  sinners.     This  boy  afterward  became  a  minister  of  the  gospel. 

A    MISSOURI   CAMP-MEETING. 

The  year  1854  was  onp  of  great  drouth  in  some  parts  of  Missouri, 
the  severest  ever  known  to  the  people  of  that  State.  It  continued 
from  June  1S54  to  IMay  1855.  Trees  died,  stock  perished,  people 
were  in  extreme  suffering  for  lack  of  water.  The  "Salt  Fork" 
Cumberland  Presbyterian  church  had  a  pretty  large  membership. 
About  one  third  of  these  members  wanted  to  hold  their  annual 
camp-meeting,  drouth  or  no  drouth.  The  other  two  thirds  ear- 
nestly objected,  and  positively  refused  to  co-operate.  Only  three 
families  were  willing  to  move  to  the  encampment.  Still  the 
minority  resolved  to  hold  the  meeting.  They  secured  the  services 
of  the  Rev.  J.  B.  I\Iorrow,  and  the  Rev.  P.  G.  Rea.  They  got 
permission  to  use  a  dry  well  near  the  camp-ground.  From  a  big 
spring,  three  miles  distant,  they  hauled  water  in  barrels  and  filled 
the  well.  By  keeping  a  wagon  constantly  running  all  through 
the  meeting,  they  kept  a  supply  of  water  in  this  reservoir.  At  first 
only  a  few  people  were  present.  Part  of  the  few  were  rowdies  who 
attended  for  the  purpose  of  making  disturbance,  and  for  several 
days  resorted  to  various  methods  of  interrupting  the  services.  At 
last  some  of  them  went  so  far  as  to  pretend  to  be  seeking  religion. 
The  instructions  which  these  pretended  mourners  recei\-ed  were 
such  as  to  m.ake  their  ears  tingle.  Finally  they  became  so 
frightened  at  the  solemnity  of  the  meeting,  that  they  ran  away. 
Then  their  leader  began  to  feel  real*  conviction,  and  sought  his 
Savior  in  good  earnest.  In  spite  of  drouth,  opposing  members, 
and  lawless  rowdies,  God  blessed  his  faithful  servants  with  a  gra- 
cious revival.  About  seventy  conversions  were  counted  among  the 
results  of  the  meeting. 

THE   BARN    MEETING. 

In  185 1  there  was  in  Saline  County,  Missouri,  a  neighborhood 
which  had  no  church  of  any  denomination.  The  Rev.  P.  G.  Rea 
made  arrangements  to  hold  an  out-door  meeting  in  a  oTove  near  a 


636  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  vi. 

large  barn  in  that  neighborhood.  Rain  setting  in,  the  services  were 
held  in  the  barn.  There  was  good  interest,  and  the  meetings  were 
continued  two  weeks.  One  of  the  mourners  was  a  bright  little 
girl  whose  father  was  an  unconverted  man.  This  father  feigned 
to  be  sick,  and  kept  away  from  the  meetings  more  than  a  week, 
but  his  wife  was  praying  for  him.  At  last,  on  Sabbath,  he  ventured 
to  attend.  That  day  his  daughter  was  still  a  mourner,  but  before 
the  services  ended  she  was  converted.  Then  she  went  to  her  father 
and  asked  him  to  seek  his  Savior.  He  promptly  agreed  to  do  so, 
and  went  with  her  to  the  mourner's  bench,  where  he  also  found 
peace  in  believing.  Though  now  old,  he  still  maintains  a  consist- 
ent Christian  life.  This  meeting  in  the  barn  was  the  origin  of  the 
Mt.  Horeb  church. 

A  TRIAL   AND   A   TRIUMPH. 

In  Logan  County,  Kentucky,  in  the  great  revival  of  1800,  a 
youthful  daughter  of  George  McLean  became  a  Christian.  Her 
father  was  at  that  time  a  gambler,  distiller,  and  man  of  the  world 
generally.  The  daughter,  Elizabeth,  was  a  disturbing  element  in 
the  godless  revels  of  the  family.  The  father  tried  through  several 
of  her  associates  to  win  her  back  to  a  worldly  life.  Then,  as  now, 
the  dance  was  relied  upon  as  the  entering  wedge  to  divide  asunder 
the  Christian  and  the  Savior.  But  all  efforts  to  entangle  Elizabeth 
in  this  snare  of  Satan  utterly  failed.  Then  her  father  changed  his 
tactics.  As  she  would  not  go  to  balls,  he  resolved  to  have  one  at 
his  own  house.  When  the  guests  were  assembled,  and  all  in- 
ducements had  failed  to  make  her  dance,  he  said  to  her:  "You 
profess  to  go  by  your  Bible.  The  Bible  commands  you  to  obey 
your  parents.  I  now  order  you  positively  to  dance  the  next  set 
with  me,  your  father."  She  obeyed,  but  spent  the  time  while  she 
was  dancing  in  solemn  prayer  to  God  for  the  conversion  of  her 
father.  Her  face  was  pale,  her  countenance  sad,  her  eyes  were 
filled  with  tears.  All  present  felt  impressed  by  her  conduct.  Her 
father  broke  down,  publicly  asked  her  pardon,  and  began  to  pray 
for  salvation.  He  never  rested  until  he  became  a  rejoicing  Chris- 
tian. Other  members  of  the  family  were  brought  into  the  fold. 
Year  after  year  McLean  was  found  in  his  tent  at  old  Mt.  ISIoriah 
camp-ground,  ready  to  co-operate  with  Chapman  and   Harris   in 


Chapter  XLIX.]  ANECDOTES.  637 

their  annual  camp-meetings.  The  family  all  became  Christians, 
and  have  all  of  them  made  their  record  among  the  best  workers 
of  our  church.  When  it  became  necessary  for  him  to  move  to  an- 
other neighborhood,  where  there  was  no  camp-ground,  Mr.  McLean 
established  one.  He  built  five  camps,  and  agreed  to  furnish  all  the 
provisions  if  his  neighbors  would  occupy  his  camps  and  feed  the 
people.  Elder  A.  J.  McLean  was  his  son,  and  the  Rev.  George  D. 
McLean,  of  precious  memory,  was  his  grandson. 

ANOTHER   DANCING   INCIDENT. 

In  1867  in  a  Tennessee  town  lived  a  beautiful  and  wealthy  lady 
who  was  fond  of  dancing.  There  was  a  revival  in  the  town,  and 
the  only  daughter  of  this  fashionable  lady  was  among  the  converts. 
She  wanted  to  join  the  church,  but  her  parents  opposed.  The 
pastor  visited  them,  and  discussed  the  question  very  earnestly  with 
them.  They  said:  "No;  she  shall  not  join.  You  would  not  let 
her  dance,  and  we  intend  her  to  be  a  society  woman. ' '  They  car- 
ried their  point.  A  society  v/oman  she  became.  She  is  still  a 
society  woman,  but  the  scene  of  her  sad  career  has  changed.  She 
now  leads  a  life  of  shame  in  the  great  city,  and  the  mother  lives 
with  her  daughter.     The  tree  is  known  by  its  fruits. 

A   WAR   INCIDENT. 

At  the  battle  of  Murfreesboro,  Rev.  W.  P.  McBryde,  who  was 
afterward  chaplain,  went  along  with  his  regiment.  After  the 
great  battle  was  over,  he  found  a  bullet  hole  in  his  shoe,  another 
in  his  haversack,  and  another  through  the  back  of  his  coat.  A 
ball  had  torn  off  the  front  part  of  his  vest  pocket.  Another  had 
passed  between  his  sleeve  and  breast,  cutting  the  coat.  Taking 
out  his  Bible  from  his  side  pocket  for  his  regular  scripture  reading 
that  night,  he  found  a  bullet  hole  through  the  Bible.  And  yet 
McBryde  himself  had  received  no  woimd.  Some  will  say  all  such 
things  are  the  result  of  chance,  or  of  nature's  laws;  and  some  of 
us  prefer  seeing  the  protecting  hand  of  a  loving  Father  shielding 
a  life  for  which  he  still  had  other  uses. 

A   CASE   OF   FASTING   AND   PRAYER. 

The  Rev.  R.  G.  Sims  was  holding  a  meeting  in  Arkansas. 
Two  sisters  were  attending,  one  a  Christian,  the  other  not.     The 


638  Cu:\[r>ERLAXD  Prespa-teriax  History.       [Period  vi. 

Christian  sister  asked  Sims  what  he  thought  about  fasting.  He  is 
an  earnest  believer  in  its  efficacy.  He  gave  the  young  lady  inci- 
dents pointing  to  the  divine  blessing  on  fasting  as  a  means  of  grace. 
She  resolved  to  observe  a  protracted  season  of  fasting  and  prayer 
for  her  sister's  conversion.  At  the  closing  hour  of  her  appointed 
fast  she  was  seated  beside  that  sister  in  the  church.  Up  to  this 
time  no  indications  of  any  answer  to  her  prayer  had  been  given. 
The  unconverted  sister  had  made  no  public  demonstration  of  inter- 
est or  concern;  but  now  she  rose  to  her  feet,  and,  extending  her 
hand,  said  very  quietly:  "Your  prayers  are  answered;  I  am  saved." 
Going  through  the  congregation  in  the  same  quiet  way,  she  com- 
municated the  same  intelligence  to  her  friends  and  acquaintances. 
Her  life  since  that  day  gives  evidence  of  genuine  conversion. 

A   GAINSAYER   CONVERTED. 

At  one  of  Mr.  Sims'  meetings,  a  woman  who  ridiculed  experi- 
mental religion,  carried  her  Bible  to  church  and  made  a  vigorous 
canvass  among  the  mourners,  trying  to  prove  that  the  minister's 
teachings  about  repentance,  and  faith,  and  the  love  of  God  in  the 
heart  were  unscriptural  and  false.  She  was  nois}-,  insolent,  and 
persistent,  vSinis  inquired  about  her,  and  learned  that  her  parents 
were  good  IMethodists.  Taking  an  elder  with  him  to  the  grove, 
the  two  joined  in  prayer  to  God  for  the  fulfillment  of  the  promise 
made  in  Psalms  Ixxiv.  10-12.  The  meetings  Avent  on,  and  the 
mocker  pursiied  her  opposition.  Then  her  daughter  was  among 
the  rejoicing  converts.  The  mother  railed  on  her,  argued  with 
her,  but  the  daughter,  after  hearing  respectfully  all  that  her  mother 
had  to  say,  replied  calmly:  "  I  can  not  but  testify  to  what  I  know 
and  feel  in  my  own  soul.  I  know  I  am  happy  in  Jesus."  At  this 
the  mother  fell  prostrate  and  began  praying  for  salvation.  She 
continued  to  seek,  until  she  was  enabled  to  testify  before  tlie  whole 
congregation  that  she  now  knew  for  herself  the  reality  of  that 
spiritual  experience  which  she  had  ridiculed.  ]\Iembers  of  her 
church  then  interfered,  and  took  her  home.  They  said  she  was 
crazy.  Her  husband  was  absent,  driving  stock  to  market.  They 
wrote  to  him  that  his  wife  had  lost  her  reason.  He  sacrificed  his 
stock,  and  hurried  home,  expecting  to  find  his  wife  a  hopeless 


Chapter  XLIX.]  ANECDOTES.  639 

wreck.  To  liis  delight  lie  found  lier  in  her  right  mind  more  than 
she  had  ever  been  before.  After  a  few  daj's'  observation  he  went  to 
the  church  of  which  he  and  his  wife  had  both  been  members,  and 
asked  them  to  take  his  name  off  their  rolls. 

A  BAND  OF  ROWDIES  CONQUERED. 

At  one  of  the  meetings  which  Mr.  Sims  held  in  Arkansas,  a 
band  of  unconverted  men  determined  to  break  up  the  meeting. 
Sims  went  to  God  in  fasting  and  prayer.  The  wife  and  daughter 
of  the  ringleader  of  the  band  became  deeply  concerned  about  their 
souls,  and  went  to  the  mourner's  bench.  This  enraged  the  wicked 
man.  At  the  next  service  he  took  his  stick  and  went  with  his 
family  to  church,  declaring  it  to  be  his  purpose  to  beat  the  preacher 
with  his  stick.  Sims,  who  had  just  ended  one  of  his  seasons  of 
fasting  and  prayer,  made  his  usually  solemn  though  simple  talk, 
and  then  started  through  the  congregation  to  the  spot  where  the 
man  with  his  stick  was  seated.  There  was  a  power  in  the  preach- 
er's presence  which  made  this  boastful  opj)oser  of  religion  tremble. 
Along  with  this  power,  given  in  answer  to  prayer,  the  minister 
showed  that  fearlessness  which  the  conscious  assurance  of  divine 
protection  always  imparts.  As  Sims  approached,  the  ruffian  re- 
treated, leaving  the  church  and  going  to  his  home.  The  wife  and 
daughter  were  converted  that  day,  and  when  they  entered  their 
house  they  found  the  wicked  man  prostrate  in  prayer.  He  was  at 
last  converted  and  went  to  work  for  other  lost  souls.  He  held 
prayers  in  his  family,  and  gave  of  his  money  freely  to  the  cause  of 
Christ.  Other  violent  opposers  were  also  reached  by  the  Holy 
Spirit,  and  became  part  of  the  praying  band. 

THE  KEYSTONE  OF  THE  ARCH. 
When  the  Rev.  W.  H.  Crawford  was  young  in  the  ministr}^,  he 
and  another  minister  held  a  series  of  meetings  not  far  from  his 
home  in  East  Tennessee.  The  congressman  for  that  district  was 
present.  While  this  man  was  very  popular,  he  was  not  a  Chris- 
tian, and  his  presence  was  a  terror  to  the  young  preachers.  During 
the  sermon,  however,  the  preacher  forgot  the  fear  of  man,  and  pro- 
claimed with  power  the  plain  truth  of  God.  The  congressman  was 
in  tears.     Seeing  this,  Mr.  Crawford  went  to  him  when  the  sermon 


640  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  vi. 

closed,  and  said:  "  Mr.  C,  you  need  no  argument  from  me  to  con- 
vince you  that  you  ought  to  be  a  Christian."  He  answered:  "I 
do  not."  The  preacher  said:  "There  is  one  thing  more  that  you 
ought  to  know,  if  you  do  not  already  know  it.  You  are  standing 
in  the  way  of  others." 

The  congressman  rose  to  his  feet,  and  speaking  aloud,  said:  "I 
want  it  distinctly  understood  that  I  will  stand  in  the  way  of  no- 
body. If  you  want  to  be  Christians,  come  along  with  me  to  the 
mourner's  bench."  Grasping  a  prominent  friend  in  each  hand,  he 
led  the  way  to  the  place  of  prayer.  There  were  sixty  conversions 
there  that  day,  including  nearly  all  the  adult  sinners  of  the  neigh- 
borhood. A  church  was  organized,  a  house  built,  and  Crawford 
was  called  to  be  pastor  of  the  new  flock.  In  this  relation  he  re- 
mained for  many  years.     The  congregation  still  lives. 

A  PRESBYTERIAN  ELDER  CONVINCED. 

At  this  meeting  just  described,  there  was  a  Presbyterian 
elder  who  had  been  bitterly  prejudiced  against  "the  Cumber- 
lands."  When,  however,  he  saw  the  conversion  of  the  congress- 
man, and  after  that  the  conversion  of  his  own  children,  his  preju- 
dices were  all  swept  away,  and  he  became  as  demonstrative  in  his 
religious  raptures  as  any  one  else  at  the  meeting.  This  elder,  like 
thousands  of  others  in  that  day,  had  been  taught  to  believe  that 
"  Cumberlands "  and  "New  Lights"  were  one  and  the  same,  and 
that  our  church  had  no  written  creed,  but  was  opposed  to  Confes- 
sions of  Faith. 

A    CHRISTMAS    PARTY. 

The  unconverted  young  men  of  an  East  Tennessee  neighbor- 
hood met  to  decide  how  to  enjoy  the  approaching  Christmas. 
After  some  conversation  it  was  proposed  to  send  for  the  Rev.  W. 
H.  Crawford,  have  a  meeting,  all  of  them  agreeing  to  seek  their 
souls'  salvation.  The  proposition  was  adopted,  and  a  petition  was 
drawn  up  stating  that  they  desired  Mr.  Crawford  to  come  and  hold 
a  meeting  with  a  view  to  their  conversion.  They  all  signed  the 
petition.  Mr.  Crawford  complied  with  their  request.  At  the  first 
service  he  read  the  petition  to  the  congregation.  One  dear  (3ld 
Methodist  shouted  when  he  heard  the  paper  read.     The  meetings 


Chapter  XLIX.]  ANECDOTES.  64I 

were  wonderfully  successful.  About  one  hundred  conversions  were 
reported.  Among  these  were  all  but  one  of  the  young  men  who 
had  signed  the  petition.  One  declared  it  to  be  a  mere  joke.  He 
mocked  at  the  meeting,  and  opposed  it  A  few  days  afterward,  in 
the  same  church  at  a  public  meeting,  he  was  attacked  with  a  sud- 
den illness,  and  fell  dead  from  his  pew. 

TWO   CASES  CONTRASTED. 

On  the  last  day  of  one  of  our  great  camp-meetings  in  the  olden 
time,  a  preacher  was  going  silently  about  among  the  people,  talking 
with  the  unconverted.  One  of  the  persons  whom  he  approached 
was  a  young  man  named  Joe.  After  some  preliminaries  Joe  said: 
"I  have  deliberately  made  up  my  mind  to  wait  till  the  Providence 
camp-meeting,  two  weeks  from  now,  and  then  to  seek  religion." 
Afterward  the  preacher  had  a  conversation  with  a  young  lady  who 
was  also  unconverted.  She  said,  "I  don't  intend  to  leave  this 
camp-ground  till  I  find  my  Savior. ' '  She  kept  her  word.  When 
the  last  service  was  over  and  the  congregation  was  dismissed,  she 
refused  to  go  away.  Some  friends  remained  with  her,  and  at  two 
o'clock  that  night  she  found  peace  in  believing.  The  next  week 
she  and  Joe  both  died.  Joe  said,  with  his  last  breath,  "Lost,  for- 
ever lost!"  The  young  lady,  with  her  last  breath,  proclaimed  the 
joys  of  salvation.  Her  face  was  radiant  with  heavenly  light  even 
until  the  pulses  ceased  to  beat. 

A  DEFEAT  CHANGED  TO  VICTORY. 
Bethel  and  Shiloh  were  the  names  of  two  camp-grounds  in 
West  Tennessee  where  the  beloved  Robert  Baker  used  to  win 
many  a  triumph  as  God's  own  chosen  minister.  After  Christ 
called  Baker  home,  there  was  one  camp-meeting  at  Bethel  which, 
though  attended  by  even  larger  congregations  than  usual,  seemed 
to  be  an  utter  failure.  The  last  day  of  the  meeting  came.  The 
campers  loaded  their  wagons  to  return  to  their  homes.  They  were 
disappointed  and  sad.  Never  before  had  Bethel  camp-meeting 
closed  without  any  conversions.  Parents  were  there  who  had  been 
looking  fondly  to  that  meeting  as  the  time  when  their  unconverted 
children  would  be  brought  to  the  Lord.  There  were  many  bowed 
heads  and  heavy  hearts.  Although  the  wagons  were  all  loaded 
41 


642  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  \'i. 

and  every  thing  ready  for  going  home,  still  all  seemed  reluctant  to 
leave  the  encampment.  Men  were  seated  silently  abont  the  camps; 
women  were  weeping.  Mrs.  Lon.  Bigham  was  one  of  the  best 
Christians  in  that  neighborhood.  She  sat  with  her  head  bowed 
upon  a  table,  not  weeping,  but  praying.  After  a  while  her  prayers 
grew  articulate.  Then  they  became  audible.  Others  seated  about 
also  began  to  pray.  In  a  few  moments  there  was  a  girdle  of 
prayer  around  the  encampment.  It  was  not  social  prayer,  but 
each  one  prayed  apart.  Some  lay  prostrate,  some  were  on  their 
knees,  and  some  were  seated.  After  a  few  moments  more  I\Irs. 
Bigham's  voice  rang  with  the  accents  of  victory.  God  had  given 
her  assurance  that  her  prayer  v/as  accepted.  The  power  of  the 
Spirit  touched  the  unconverted,  and  soon  in  every  tent  there  was 
some  poor  sinner  seeking  salvation.  Outside,  scattered  here  and 
there,  were  little  groups  of  praying  ones  bowed  together  with  some 
anxious  inquirers  after  salvation.  No  dinner  was  eaten.  At  night 
the  wagons  were  unloaded,  and  public  services  were  held.  Before 
that  meeting  closed  the  names  of  more  than  two  hundred  converts 
had  been  enrolled.  Among  these  converts  were  several  vounof 
men  wdio  afterward  became  ministers  of  the  gospel. 

A  mother's  prayers. 

About  forty-eight  years  ago  the  grandmother  of  the  Rev.  J.  N. 
McDonald  was  living  with  her  son,  Alexander  McDonald,  in  Xer- 
million  County,  Illinois.  She  was  a  devoted  member  of  the  Pres- 
byterian church,  but  her  son  was  not  a  Christian.  She,  however, 
kept  up  regular  family  worship  with  her  son's  household.  E}i  and 
by  her  pra}-ers  became  very  personal.  She  pleaded  for  tlie  conver- 
sion of  her  son.  He  did  not  like  this,  and  expostulated  with  her. 
She  told  him  that  she  would  agree  to  refrain  from  such  direct 
prayers  on  condition  that  he  v/ould  go  at  once  for  the  Rev.  'Mr.  Ross 
(a  Cumberland  Presbyterian  minister),  and  have  him  come  and 
hold  a  meeting  there  in  their  own  house.  There  was  no  meeting- 
house in  the  neighborhood.  The  ground  was  then  covered  with 
snow,  but  with  some  reluctance  and  misgivings  the  condition  was 
accepted.  Ross  came  and  held  the  meeting.  A  gracious  revival 
was  the  result.     Many  persons  were  converted,  and  a  Cumberland 


Chapter  XLIX.]  ANECDOTES.  643 

Presbyterian  church  was  organized  with  forty  members.  The  first 
name  on  its  roll  was  Mrs.  IMcDonald's.  That  church  still  exists. 
Nearly  all  the  members  of  that  branch  of  the  McDonald  family, 
wherever  they  are  now  scattered,  are  Cumberland  Presbyterians. 

A  JEW  CONVERTED. 

Many  years  ago  Mr.  D. ,  a  thriving  Hebrew  merchant,  lived  in 
a  Tennessee  town.  The  services  of  the  Rev.  C.  A.  Davis,  D.D., 
were  secured  to  hold  a  series  of  meetings  in  'the  Cumberland  Pres- 
byterian church.  This  Jewish  citizen  attended  the  meetings  and 
became  an  ardent  admirer  of  the  preacher.  One  day  Dr.  Davis 
discussed  the  prophecies  which  point  to  Christ  as  the  Messiah  of 
the  Old  Testament.  D.  was  present,  and  gave  close  attention.  As 
the  proofs  were  brought  nearer  and  nearer  to  a  demonstration,  the 
sweat  rolled  from  D.'s  face.  At  last  the  preacher  closed  up  the  last 
link  in  the  chain  of  his  argument.  The  Jew  saw  it  all  like  a  flash 
of  lightning.  In  an  instant,  right  in  the  midst  of  the  sermon,  he 
cried  out  at  the  top  of  his  voice,  "O  thou  son  of  David,  have 
mercy  upon  me."  He  became  an  earnest  Christian,  and  his  whole 
family  followed  him  into  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  church, 
where  he  maintained  a  consistent  membership  until  the  day  of  his 

death. 

L.  c.  ransom's  discipline. 

While  L.  C.  Ransom  was  pastor  at  Memphis,  Tennessee,  a  lady 
who  had  been  an  active  and  faithful  member  in  his  congregation 
attended  the  theater.  Afterward  she  began  to  have  some  anxiety 
about  what  her  pastor  would  say  on  the  subject.  Finally  she  made 
up  her  mind  to  put  on  a  bold  face.  She  would  resent  any  attempts 
to  lecture  her  as  an  interference  with  her  private  rights,  and  assert 
her  ability  to  judge  for  herself  what  was  proper  conduct  for  a  church 
member.  Her  first  meeting  with  the  pastor  was  in  his  study  alone. 
He  met  her  kindly,  took  her  cordially  by  the  hand,  and,  bursting 
into  tears,  turned  away  and  hid  his  face  from  her  sight.  She  then 
and  there  resolved  never  again  to  attend  the  theater. 

presentiment  of  death. 

In  1871  the  Rev.  A.  J.  McGown  was  attending  the  meeting  of 
Trinity  Presbytery.     He  preached  Friday.     Saturday  he  was  again 


644  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History.       [Period  vi. 

appointed  to  preach.  When  he  rose  in  the  pulpit  those  who  had 
long  known  him  say  that  they  never  before  saw  on  his  face  such  an 
expression  of  solemnity.  He  commenced  by  saying:  "  Brethren,  I 
feel  impressed  that  this  is  to  be  my  last  sermon,  and  I  want  to  take 
this  text,  '  Go  ye  into  all  the  world,  and  preach  the  gospel  to  ever}' 
creature.'  "  The  sermon  was  one  of  great  power.  He  returned 
after  services  to  the  house  of  Mr.  Murchison,  where  he  took  his 
bed,  from  which  he  rose  no  more. 


INDEX. 

A. 

Adair,  Rev.  Wayman,  enters  the  ministry,  162;  in  Mississippi,  259. 

Alabama,  planting  churches  in,  155;  an  incident,  161;  beset  with 
trials,  162,  163. 

Alabama  Presbytery,  manner  of  organization,  158;  a  hard  field,  159; 
its  candidates,  161;  condemning  the  convention,  236. 

Allegheny  Presbytery,  when  organized,  291. 

Allen,  Joseph  W.,  an  incident  of,  455. 

Allen,  Rev.  O.  D.,  614. 

Alton  (111-),  Board  of  Missions,  382,  441. 

Anecdotes,  627-644. 

Anderson,  Rev.  Alexander,  written  discourse  of,  48;  licensed,  49; 
gifts  of,  54;   prayer  answered,  55. 

Anderson,  Rev.  Jesse,  publishing  agent,  580. 

Anderson,  Rev.  Dr.  S.  T.,  missionary  to  Trinidad,  479-4S1;  return  of, 
4S2;  professor  in  Waynesburg  College,  539. 

Anderson,  Rev.  Dr.  T.  C,  biographical  sketch  of  Rev.  George  Don- 
nell,  145,  146;  assistant  editor,  231;  in  Ohio,  298;  an  incident, 
305;  professor  in  Cumberland  University,  509,  510;  president, 
511;  resignation,  516. 

Anti-Revival  Party,  61. 

Ark,  The,  593. 

Arkansas,  planting  of  church  in,  18S— 200. 

Arkansas  Presbytery,  when  and  where  constituted,  195;  no  quorum, 
196;  extension,  196;  meetings,  197. 

Armstrong,  Rev.  J.  C,  missionary  to  Turkey,  335;  commissioned  to 
go  to  the  North-west,  338;  an  incident,  338;  organizes  churches, 
339;  glimpses  of  his  work,  339,  340.  443-447. 

Ashmore,  Rev.  H.  H.,  extract  from  manuscript  of,  172;  incidents  of, 
424,  425. 

(645) 


646  Index. 

Aston,  Rev,  S.  M.,  sent  to  East  Tennessee,  145;  in  Pennsylvania,  284; 
in  Ohio,  299;  anecdotes  of,  630,  631. 

Austin  (Texas),  458. 

AxTELL,  Rev.  Philip,  editor    The  Religious  Pantagraph    and   Semi- 
Centennial^  592. 


B. 

Bacon,  Rev.  Sumner,  rejected  as  a  candidate,  263;  first  Protestant  to 
preach  in  Texas,  264;  adventures  of,  263-266;  hcensed  and 
ordained  the  same  day,  266;  at  a  meeting  of  Mississippi  Synod, 
268. 

Baird,  Rev.  Dr.  A.  J.,  compiler  of  hymn  book,  589;  corresponding 
delegate,  449,  450;  instructor  in  Greene  Academy,  528;  author 
of  Mahlon's  Letters,  591;  death,  467. 

Baker,  Rev.  Mr.,  429. 

Baker,  Rev.  Robert,  sent  to  East  Tennessee,  145;  to  West  Tennes- 
see, 149;  641. 

Baker,  Rev.  Robert  W.,  missionary  to  the  Indians,  330;  principal  of 
Armstrong  Academy,  330. 

Balch,  Rev.  Mr.,  opposition  of,  39,  80. 

Baldridge,  Rev.  W.  H.,  testimony  of,  32. 

Banner  of  Peace,  238,  389,  591. 

Barnett,  Rev.  John,  first  sermon  in  Illinois,  168;  lease  of,  216. 

Barnett   Presbytery,   when   organized,   185;    its  original   members, 

185. 
Barnett,  Rev.  William,  biographical  sketch  of,  92;  won  to  missions, 

136;  in  West  Tennessee,  150. 

Baxter,  Rev.  Dr.,  testimony  of,  23,  24;  jerks,  47. 

Beard,  Rev.  Dr.  R.,  testimony  of,  36;  sketch  of  Rev.  W.  Harris,  95; 
sketch  of  Rev.  Robert  Bell,  141;  sent  to  Forked  Deer  circuit, 
149;  222:  elected  president  of  Cumberland  College,  224,  227;  his 
assistants  there,  227;  closed  his  work  at,  22S;  in  charge  of  Sharon 
Academy,  259;  a  corresponding  delegate,  317,  318;  anti-slavery 
record,  412,  413;  450;  page  in  Assembly's  Minutes  set  apart  to, 
458;  professor  in  theological  department  Cumberland  University, 
514,  515.  report  on  education,  556;  anecdote  of,  631,  632. 


Index.  647 

Beck,  Rev.  W.  W.,  617. 

Beech  Church,  15;  historic  interest,  121.  ' 

Beesox,  Rev.  Dr.  W.  E.,  president  of  Trinity  University,  552;  resig- 
nation, 553. 

Bell,  Rev.  Dr.  C.  H.,  address  of,  475;  in  St.  Louis,  471;  lectures  in 
'Theological  School,  506;  president  of  Union  Female  College, 
565;  president  Board  of  Missions,  476. 

Bell,  Rev.  Robert,  at  school,  6;  testimony  of,  17;  biographical 
'  sketch,  91;  prepares  constitution  for  first  missionary  society,  139; 
sent  as  an  evangelist,  130;  school  opened,  133;  convictions  as 
to  education,  134;  government  aid  secured,  134;  could  not  be 
driven  away,  135;  his  correspondence,  136-140;  mission  closed, 
140,  biographical  sketch  by  Rev.  Dr.  Beard,  141;  sent  to  Hunt's 
Sprnig,  156. 

Bell,  Rev.  R.  S.,  missionary  to  the  Indians,  330;  441. 

Berry,  Rev.  J.  M.,  anecdotes  of,  306,  608,  609,  630. 

Bethel  College  (Tcnn.),  566-56S;  origin  of,  566;  struggles  of  young 
men,  566,  567;  a  lesson  on  concentration,  567;  its  succession  of 
presidents,  568. 

Bethel  Presbytery  (Indian),  when  organized,  389;  476,  477. 

Best,  Rev.  James,  in  Logansport  (Ind.),  474. 

Beverly  College  (Ohio),  origin  of,  531,  532. 

BiDDLE,  Rev.  J.  G.,  professor  in  Cumberland  College,  227;  at  Win- 
Chester,  Tenn.,  228. 

Big  Spring  Church,  origin,  121 ;  Rev.  Thomas  Calhoun  first  pastor, 

133. 

Bird,  Rev.  Dr.  Milton,  reply  to  the  Presbyterian,  46;  paper  of,  339, 
'  240;  arrival  in  Pennsylvania,  283,  628;  editor  of  the  Union  and 
Evangelist,  291;  opening  sermons,  311,  391;  chairman  Commit- 
tee of  Publication,  314;  chairman  of  Committee  on  Fraternal 
Correspondence,  318;  clerk  of  General  Assembly,  320;  opposed 
to  concentration,  362;  opposed  to  abolition  of  synods,  389;  editor, 
595,  596;  professor  In  Madison  College,  529;  publishing  agent, 
579;  sermon  of,  391;  report  of,  558;  death  of,  449;  629. 

Black,  Rev.  F.  G.,  at  Lebanon,  Ohio,  29S;  in  Cincinnati,  323,  377. 

Black,  Rev.  W.  H.,  in  St.  Louis,  472;  not  admitted  to  Pan-Presbyte- 
rian Council,  462;  report  of,  463. 


648  Index. 

Blackijuun,  Rev.  Dk.,  "  tokens,"  19;  revivals,  24;  a  revival  meetino-, 
43;  "jerks,"  47;  a  leader  in  East  Tennessee,  143;  mission  to  the 
Indians,  128. 

Blackwell,  William,  a  specimen  elder,  18S. 

Blake,  Rev.  Dr.  T.  C,  secretary  Board  of  Missions,  313;  established 
the  S.  S.  Gem,  3S9;  agent  Cumberland  Universitv,  513,  515; 
editor  Baymcr  of  Peace,  591;  editor  of  the  Theological  AJcdium, 
596;  publishing  agent,  587;  financial  agent  Board  of  Publication, 
583;  stated  clerk  General  Assembly,  459. 

Bone,  Rev.  Dr.  M.  H.,  began  his  work,  1:^2;  an  incident,  154;  as  agent 
visits  Ohio  and  Pennsylvania,  273;  president  Board  of  Education, 
316;  organized  church  at  Lebanon,  Ohio,  298;   two  incidents,  373, 

377- 
Books,  of  fourtn  period,  367;  names  and  cnaracter  of,  367-369;  new, 
461. 

Boone,  Daniel,  5. 

BowDON,  Rev.   Dr.  J.   C,  435;  president  of  Lincoln   University,  545. 

Bowling  Green  (Ky.),  a  great  revival,  301;  an  incident,  377;  school 
(col.),  437,  455. 

BoYDSTUN,  Rev.  J.  G.,  633. 

Bradley,  Rev.  C.  J.,  president  Bethel  College,  56S. 

Braly,  Rev.  Frank  M.,  an  incident,  183,  184. 

Braly,  Rev.  J.  E.,  in  Oregon,  343;  incidents  by  the  way,  343,  344; 
arrival  in  California,  349,  350;  353. 

Brice,    Rev.   A.   B.,   editor    Cumberland  Presbyterian   (Uniontown), 

591.  594- 
Brown,  Col.  Joe,  3,  109, 

Brown,  Rev.  Dr.  J.  R.,  editor,  460,  595;  author  of  "Lights  on  the 
Way,"  489;  editor  Cumberland  Presbyteriaji,  586;  editor  St. 
Louis  Observer,  595;  editor  Tlie  Ladies''  Pearl,  595. 

Brownsville  (Neb.),  615. 

Bryan,  Rev.  Dr.  A.  M.,  appointed  to  visit  Pennsylvania,  274;  first  to 
work  in  Pittsburg,  283;  at  IMeadville  (Pa.),  2S9;  his  work  in 
Pittsburg,  290;  anecdotes  of,  290,  62S,  629. 

Buchanan,  Rev.  Andrew,  as  a  preacher,  196;  a  fearless  hero,  199. 
Buchanan,  Rev.  John,  his  work  and  influence,  305. 


Index.  649 

Buchanan,  Rev.  Dr.  S.  H.,  472;  tutor  in  Cane  Hill  College,  569. 

BuiE,  Rev.  Daniel,  first  to  settle  in  Missouri,  175;  last  days  of,  375. 

BuNYAN,  Rev.  John,  quotation  from,  67. 

BuRNEY,  A.  M.,  president  Cumberland  Female  College,  566. 

BuRNEY,  Rev.  Dr.  S.  G.,  on  abolition  of  synods,  370,  3S9;  president 
Union  Female  College,  564;  report  on  education,  556. 

Burney,  Rev.  W.  S.,  abundant  in  labors,  259. 

Burrow,  Rev.  A.  G.,  chaplain,  430. 

Burrow,  Rev.  Dr.  Reube.m,  sent  to  Missouri,  179;  an  incident,  iSo; 
small  salary,  183;  physical  power,  193;  an  incident,  194;  visit  to 
Pennsylvania,  274;  camp-meeting,  281 ;  an  incident,  282;  on  sanc- 
tification,  370;  infant  justification,  370;  rights  of  presbyteries,  370. 

Bushnell,  Rev.  Dr.  D.  E.,  quotation  from,  354;  440;  editor  Paciiic 
Observer,  596. 

c. 

Calhoun,  Rev.  Thomas,  an  incident,  30;  prayer  of,  31;  an  incident, 
33;  answer  to  prayer,  35;  camp-meeting,  89;  biographical  sketch 
of,  91;  life  work,  123;  first  evangelistic  tour,  128;  in  East  Ten- 
nessee, 143;  glimpse  of  pioneer  life,  147;  through  West  Tennes- 
see, 149;  at  Hunt's  Spring,  156;  public  confession,  246;  first 
president  Board  of  Missions,  312;  testimony  of,  604. 

Calhoun,  Rev.  T.  P.,  secretary  Board  of  Missions,  313. 

California,  planting  of  churches  in,  348-356;  first  Protestant  preach- 
ing in,  350;  fascinations  of,  355;  difficulties,  355,  356;  advantages 
of,  356. 

California  Presbytery,  when  and  where  organized,  352;  original 
members,  353. 

Campbell,  Rev.  Dr.  W.,  editor  Ctimbcrland  Presbyterian  (Pa.),  592. 

Campbell,  Rev.  Dr.  W.  S.,  436. 

Camp-meetings,  first  in  Christendom,  13;  description  of,  14;  order  of 
the  day,  15;  held  in  churchless  communities,  117;  an  example,  117; 
first  held  in  East  Tennessee,  147;  "old  Shiloh,"  in  Carroll  County, 
149;  first  held  in  Illinois,  171;  iu  Missouri,  184;  in  Texas,  265;  in 
Pennsylvania.  279,  282;  in  Arkansas,  192;  in  Ohio.  293;  in  Iowa, 
337;  "died  a  lingering  death,"  370;  colored  people  at,  433,  434. 

Cane  Hill  Church  (Ark.),  19S,  199. 


650  Index. 

Cane  Hill  College,  "a  school  for  Jesus,"  199;  its  first  board  of  trust, 
304;  our  oldest  school,  305;  building  destroyed  by  fire,  569,  570; 
charter  procured,  56S;  both  sexes  admitted,  569. 

Cane  Ridge  (Ky.),  meetings  at,  44. 

Cane  Ridge  (Tcun.),  17. 

Cakmichaels  (l*a.),  church  at,  2S7;  Greene  Academy.  52S. 

Caknahan,  Rev.  John,  labors  in  Alabama,  156;  in  Arkansas,  189-, 
first  Protestant  sermon,  189;  a  solitary  standard-bearer,  190 

Caiiolinas,  Synod  of  the,  10. 

Caruthers,  Judge  Abram,  professor  in  law  department  Cumberland 
University,  512. 

Caruthers,  Hon.  R.  L.,  president  trustees  Cumberland  University, 
509,513. 

Catechism,  examination  in,  116. 

Cave  Spring,  camp-meeting  at,  31. 

CiiADiCK,  Rev.  W.  D.,  missionary  in  Chattanooga,  474;  agent  Cumber- 
land University,  514;  editor  Bannei-  of  Peace,  591. 

Chapel  Hill  College,  561. 

Chapman,  Rev.  Alexander,  an  incident,  33;  special  prayer,  35; 
answer  to  prayer,  36;  first  exhortation,  56;  biographical  sketch 
of,  93;  in  Indiana,  164;  a  camp-meeting,  16S;  a  missionary  tour, 
171;  visits  Pennsylvania,  274. 

Chapman  Presbytery,  ordination  b}-,  31. 

Chase,  Rev.  J.  A.,  agent  Lincoln  University,  549. 

Chattanooga  (Tenn.),  mission  in,  474;  convention  at,  3S3. 

Chautauqua,  assembly  at,  31. 

Cheap  Scholarships,  573-576. 

Cherokees,  mission  to,  476;  first  church  organized,  477;  first  presby- 
tery, 477;  schools,  478. 

Cherokee  Presbytery,  organized,  477;  items  o.   interest,  47S,  479. 

Cherry  Grove  Seminary,  555. 

Chesnut,  Rev.  Dr.  S.  P.,  editor  Banner  of  Peace,  591;  editor  The 
Ladies'  Pearl,  595. 

Chick  a  saws,  mission  to  the,  476. 

Chico,  Judge,  476. 


Index.  651 

Choctaws,  mission  to  the,  476. 

Choctaw  Presbytery,  proceedings  of  a,  619,  620. 

Church,  The,  change  of  name,  320. 

Church  Erection,  the  Board  of,  its  organization,  316. 

Church  Papers,  The,  difficulties  connected  with  our  first  paper,  229- 
239:  Rcligloics  and  Literary  Intelligencer^  229;  moved  to  Nash- 
ville—  TJie  Revivalist^  230;  changed  to  Cumberland  Presbyte- 
rian, 231;  assistant  editor,  231;  plans  of  Assembly's  committee, 
232;  Smith's  conditions  accepted,  233;  paper  suspended,  234; 
proposed  consolidation,  365;  a  sample  argument  used,  365,  366; 
pioposition  failed,  367;  debates,  371;  papers  in  Pennsylvania,  591, 

Church  Trials,  an  unusually  large  number,  371. 

Circuits,  extent  of,  54. 

Colbert,  Levi,  a  Chickasaw  chief,  131,  132,  140;  a  letter  of,  137. 

Colesbuug  Presbytery,  when  organized,  its  extent,  340. 

College,  Cumberland,  convention  of  delegates,  61;  necessitv  of 
establishing  a,  201;  theory  of  manual  labor,  201,  214;  a  printing 
establishment  with,  202;  commissioners  to  locate.  214;  "on 
credit,"  214;   doubters  as  to  location,  215. 

Colorado,  610. 

Colorado  Springs,  self-sustaining,  611. 

Concord  Church  (Pa.),  282. 

Concord  Church  (W.  Tenn.),  302,  303. 

Confession  of  Faith,  necessity  for,  98;  outline  statement  of  doctrine, 
9S-100;  adheicnce  to  the  word,  100;  synod's  committee,  100; 
Robert  Donnell's  memoranda,  100,  loi ;  Dr.  C.  H.  Bell's  exhibit, 
101-103;  much  in  the  Westminster  Confession  left  unchanged, 
104;  additions,  104;  guards  against  abuse,  104,  10^;  medium  the- 
ology taught,  106;  diagram  of  representative  creeds,  107;  com- 
mittee appointed  to  revise,  4^8;  consideration  of  revision,  459; 
transmitted  to  presbyteries,  4=59;  declared  adopted,  459. 

Controversies,  on  doctrinal  questions,  369,  370;  on  rights  of  presbv- 
teries,  370;  abolition  of  synods,  370;  tone  greatly  improved,  370; 
revision  of  Confession  of  Faith,  370;  in  the  newspapers,  371; 
Dr.  Cossitt  and  the  Presbyterians,  372. 

Convention,  The,  233-236;  the  defense  of,  235;  resolution  to  publish 
a  paper  at  Lebanon,  Tenn.,  234. 


652  Index. 

CooiMiii,  Rev.  J.  L.,  general  missionary,  42S;  work  of,  438;  principal 
of  Spring  Hill  Institute,  571,  572. 

Cornwall,  Rev.  J.  A.,  fust  Cumberland  Presbyterian  minister  in 
Oregon,  343;  difficulties  of,  345,  346;  first  Oregon  church  organ- 
ized by,  346. 

CossiTT,  Rev.  Dk.  F.  R.,  president  of  Cumberland  College,  202,  225; 
his  assistants,  225;  etlitor  Banner  of  Peace  ^  23S;  274,  275;  presi- 
dent of  Board  of  Missions,  312;  in  favor  of  Japan,  335;  in  favor 
of  concentration,  362;  president  of  Cumberland  University,  509; 
report  on  education,  55S. 

Coulter,  Rev.  J.  II.,  41S;  in  St.  Louis,  470. 

Council,  The,  sent  commissioners  to  Kentucky  Synod,  68;  organiza- 
tion and  agreement,  82;   struggle  for  reconciliation,  S2-84. 

Craighead,  Rev.  Thomas  B.,  7;  testimony  of,  8;  opposition  of,  15; 
opposition  to  revivals,  39. 

Crawford,  Rev.  C.  H.,  440. 

Crawford,  Rev.  John,  pioneer  in  Illinois,  168;  autobiography  of,  169; 
an  incident,  170. 

Crav/ford,  Rev.  N.  J.,  missionary  to  the  Indians,  477. 

Crawford,  Rev.  W.  II.,  three  anecdotes  of,  639,  640. 

Crideji,  Rev.  P.  11.,  441;  agent  Waynesburg  College,  540. 

Crisman,  Rev.  Dr.  E.  B.,  agent  Trinity  University,  554;  editor  Texas 
Observer,  594;  secretary  Board  of  Missions,  476;  sketch  of  Trin- 
ity University,  552. 

Cumberland,  country  of,  i,  9;  first  school  in,  5. 

Cumberland  Church  (Ohi(j),  when  organized,  298. 

Cumberland  Presbyterian,  The,  name  changed  to,  231;  committee 
to  form  stock  company  for,  234,  235;  location  of,  460;  in  Penn- 
sylvania. 3S9,  591. 

Cumberland  Presbytery,  opposition  to  heresy,  44;  created,  56;  ex- 
tent of,  56;  two  parties  in,  77;  refusal  of  majority  to  submit,  78; 
right  to  originate  process,  79;  failed  to  appeal,  82;  dissolved  by 
order  of  Kentucky  Synod,  82;  re-organized,  84;  no  charges 
brought  against  its  members,  84;  Dr.  Ely's  testimony,  85;  op- 
position, 85;  first  meetings,  86;  last  effort  at  reconciliation,  86; 
purchase  of  a  librar\\  86,  115;  adjustment  of  "union"  diflicul- 
ties,  87;  dealing  with  probationers,  87;  regard  for  the  Sabbath, 


Index.  653 

87,  88;  ordained  missionaries,  90;  its  school  of  science  and  divin- 
ity, 00;  heroism  required,  90;  biograpliical  sketclies  of  ministers, 
90-93;  names  of  licentiates,  92;  names  of  candidates,  92;  union 
desired,  93;  epithet  "Cumberland  Presbyterian,"  i,  114. 

Cumberland  Presbytery  (Nashville),  its  members,  94;  its  boundaries, 
94,  III;  manner  of  representation,  no;  fast  days,  in;  plan  of 
work,  113,  113;  in  favor  of  a  school,  116;  established  circuits  in 
West  Tennessee,  148. 

Cumberland  Presbyterian  Church,  name  of,  i,  114;  origin  of,  10; 
spiritual  powder,  28;  its  high  calling,  74-76;  a  separate  church 
not  aimed  at,  93;  origin  of  the  name,  i,  114;  difference  in  growth 
in  two  States,  173;  great  transition  period,  207;  extent  of  in  1S29, 
207;  two  parties  in,  363;  mushroom  colleges,  362;  attitude  on  the 
slavery  question,  410-419;  conservative  spirit  of,  419. 

Cumberland  Presbyterian  Church  (colored),  432-439;  claims  of, 
437,  438;  representative  from  Greenville  Presbytery,  436;  eccle- 
siastical separation,  434,435;  growth  of,  437,  46S;  prosperity  of, 
436,  437;  school  at  Bowling  Green  (Ky.),  437;  committee  to  co- 
operate with,  435,  459. 

Cumberland  College,  openea,  215;  agents  and  debts,  215;  proposi- 
tion to  lease,  216;  joint  stock  company  formed,  217;  transfer 
threatened,  217;  board  of  trust  appointed,  217,  218;  report  of  com- 
mittee on  education,  218;  commission  meets,  218;  accepted  the 
offer  from  Lebanon,  Tenn.,  21S;  report  of  the  commission,  219- 
23 1 ;  the  Assembly's  decision,  231,  222;  protest,  223;  plan  presented 
by  the  minority  of  the  committee  on  education,  223;  friends 
resolve  to  keep  it  alive,  233;  its  useful  career,  334;  ceased  to  be  a 
Cumberland  Presbyterian  institution,  224;  glimpses  of  its  inner 
history,  234-33S. 

Cumberland  College  (California),  353. 

Cumberland  Female  College,  565,  566. 

Cumberland  Presbyterian  Pulpit,  592. 

Cumberland  University,  509-526;  a  new  charter,  510;  re-opening 
after  the  war,  515,  516;  Camp  Blake,  518;  changes,  511;  faculty, 
509,  510,  534;  great  pi-osperity,  513,  514;  Finley  bequest,  517; 
Murdock  library,  51S;  pro-rata  salaries,  510;  purchase  of  Ca- 
ruthers  building,  516,  519;  law  department,  513,  513,  515,  535; 
theological  department,  514,  531;  law  concerning,  522,  533;  trus- 
tees of,  509;  war  closed  the  departments,  515;  struggles  with  life 
insurance  companies,  520;  table  of  statistics,  523,  524. 


654  Index. 

CuMMiNGS,  Rev.  Charles,  first  preacher  in  Tennessee,  6. 
CuNNiNGliAiM,  Rkv.  W.  N.,  missionary  and  educator,  35^. 

D. 

Dalton,  Rev.  J.  G.,  614,  615. 

Dancing,  Assembly's  deliverance,  460. 

Dahuv,  Rev.  Dk.  W.  J.,  his  pami:)hlet  history,  165,  167;  457,  460,  488. 

Darnall,  Rev,  Dr.  W.  II.,  missionary  in  Chattanooga,  474. 

Davidson,  Rev.  Dr.,  7,  40,  S3. 

Daviess,  Joe,  2. 

Davis,  Rev.  Dr.  C.  A.,  643. 

Davis,  W.  I.,  president  Union  Female  College,  565. 

Delany  Academy  (Ind.),  543,  5=^5, 

Delany,  Rev.  II.  F.,  sermon  of,  31;  an  incident,  153. 

Dennis,  Rev.  Du.  Samuel,  a  paper  by,  598. 

De  Witt,  Rev.  Dr.  INI.  B.,  chaplain,  430;  435;  soliciting  agent  Board 
of  Publication,  and  editor  of  various  periodicals,  5S4,  596;  super- 
intendent of  Sunday-schools,  456. 

Dickens,  Rev.  J.  L.,  president  Bethel  College,  568. 

DiCKERSOX,  Rev.  J.  II.,  missionary,  477. 

Dickey,  Rev.  Dr.  C.  A.,  450. 

DiLLARD,  Rev.  Dr.  John  L.,  first;  itinerant,  to  West  Tennessee,  148; 
approval  of  revision,  604. 

Doctrines,  73;  committee  to  prepare  synoj^sis  of,  98:  comparison  of 
creeds,  106,  107;  test  at  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  108. 

Donnell,  D.  ]SI.,  president  Union  Female  College,  566. 

DoNNELL,  Rev.  George,  sent  to  East  Tennessee,  145;  not  paid,  147. 

Donnell,  Rev.  Rohert,  an  incident  of,  29;  his  covenant,  34;  an  agent, 
60;  camp-meeting  in  Alabama,  89;  biographical  sketch,  92;  in 
Nashville,  137;  president  Board  of  Missions,  132;  first  evangelist 
in  East  Tennessee,  143,  141;  sent  to  Hunt's  Spring,  156;  doubts 
as  to  location  of  Cumberland  College,  215;  defends  the  conven- 
tion, 236;  visits  Pennsylvania,  274;  last  letter,  320;  organized 
church  in  Memphis,  373;  a  prayer  and  a  vow,  412;  557. 


Index.  655 

DoNNELSON,  Col.,  2. 

DooLEY,  Rev.  Linville,  a  faithful  minister,  351;  440. 

DooLEY,  Rev.  O.  D.,  440. 

Drennan,  Mrs.  A.  M.,  arrival    in  Japan,   494;     school    opened,    495; 
classes  for  young  men,  495- 

DuFFiELD,  Miss  Bettie  A.,  arrives  in  Jaj^an,   500;  work  with  Miss 
Orr,  500. 

DuXAWAY,  W.  E.,  i^ublishing-  agent,  5S3. 

Dunbar  (Neb.),  616. 

DuRANT,  Elder,  facts  from  the  life  of,  376. 

DuvALL,  Rev.  C.  P.,  472. 


E. 

Eagan,  Rev.  H.  W.,  pioneer,  616,  617 

Earle,  Rev.  Dr.  F.  R.,  president  Cane  Hill  College,  569,  570. 

Edgar,  Geo.  W.,  trustee  Lincoln  University,  549. 

Education,  without  books,  5. 

Education,  The  Board  of,  its  organization,  316;  instruction  to  ap- 
point agent  for  theological  school,  522. 

Education,  INIinisterial,  48-65;  questions  of  that  day  still  debated, 
57;  errors  concerning,  57;  slander  refuted,  58;  held  in  esteem, 
proof,  58-61;  a  curious  inconsistency,  61;  a  change,  62;  licens- 
ing catechists,  64;  woman's  sphere,  64;  the  necessity  of,  recog- 
nized, 201. 

Elk  Presbytery,  organized,  93,  94;  original  members,  94;  manner  of 
representation,  no;  its  extent,  in;  plan  of  work,  112,  113;  first 
to  move  in  Indian  missions,  129;  mission  work  in  southern  Ala- 
bama, 157;  favored  a  Board  of  Missions  for  the  whole  church,  132. 

Estill,  Rev.  Milton,  organized  first  church  in  Texas,  269. 

Estill,  Capt.  Wallace,  account  of  Gasper  meeting,  12. 

Evangelists,  618-631;  work  began,  619;  lay  evangelists,  619-621; 
error  of  the  ministry,  619,  620. 

Evangelical  Lutheran  Church,  correspondence  with,  458. 

Evansville  (Ind.),  167;  Assembly  at,  44S,  456. 


656  Index. 

EwiNG,  Rev.  Finis,  at  school,  6,  7;  testimony  of,  27;  an  anecdote  of,  28: 
before  Transylvania  Presbytery,  48;  licensed,  49;  testimony  in 
favor  of  an  educated  ministry,  59;  biographical  sketch  of,  91; 
testimony  concerning  sanctification,  104;  settled  in  Missouri,  178; 
opened  school  of  the  prophets,  17S;  sermon  on  slavery,  411; 
emancipated  his  slaves,  410. 

EwiNG,  Hon.  R.  C,  jorofessor  in  law  dejoartment  in  Lincoln  Univer- 
sity, 546. 


F. 

Factoryville  (Neb.),  616. 

Faru,  Rev.  Dr.  W.  B.,  editor  Sf.  Louis  Observer,  595. 

Fast  Days,  appointed,  319. 

"Fencing"  the  Tarle,  iio. 

Ferguson,  Rev.  Dr.  Fergus,  visit  of,  iS;  452,  453. 

FiNCHER,  Rev.  F.  M.,  anecdote  of,  634. 

Finney,  N.  J.,  president  Cumberland  Female  College,  566. 

First  Preachers,  privations  of,  3;  unconverted,  7;  testimon}-  in  favor 
of  an  educated  ministry,  59,  60;  preferred  the  wilderness,  1S7; 
thorough  preaching,  118,  119. 

FoLSOM,  Rev.  Israel,  32c;  devotion  to  his  people,  330,  331. 

Foster,  Rev.  David,  biographical  sketch  of,  92;  extract  from  letter, 
139;  ordered  to  East  Tennessee,  145. 

Foster,  Rev.  Dr.  R.  V.,  editor  Sunday-school  periodicals,  5S7. 

Fraternal  Correspondence,  a  committee  on,  317;  correspondence 
with  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian  (New  School) 
church,  317-319;  with  General  Assembly  (Old  School),  319. 

Frazier,  Rev.  R.,  editor  The  Ark,  593. 

Frazier,  Rev.  Samuel  W.,  a  missionary  to  Texas,  269. 

Freeman,  Rev.  Dr.  Azel,  professor  in  Cumberland  College,  227,  228; 
professor  in  Madison  College,  529,  531;  principal  Delany  Acad- 
emy (Ind.),  542;  president  Lincoln  University,  544,  545;  presi- 
dent Bethel  College,  568. 

Frizzell,  John,  stated  clerk,  449,  456;  resigned,  459;  moderator  Gen- 
eral Assembly,  459;  appointed  to  prepare  a  digest,  5S9. 


Index.  657 

FuLLERTON,  Rev.  B.  P.,  ill  Kansas  City,  473. 
FuQUA,  A.  ].,  435. 

G. 

Gallagher,  Rev.  James,  narrative  of,   15;    testimony  of,  25;  discus- 
sion by,  37. 

Gasper  River,  meeting  at,  13;  medical  treatment  of  "the  jerks,",  47; 
commission  met  at,  So;  of  historic  interest,  121. 

Gaut,  J.  M.,  corresponding  secretary  Board  of  Publication,  5S7. 

General  Assembly  of  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  churcli,  first 
meeting,  207,  20S;  college, paper  and  the  "book  concern"  sources 
of  anxiety,  20S;  home  missionary  work  a  bright  feature,  209;  re- 
solved to  co-operate  witli  the  American  Board,  209;  benevolent 
enterprises  receive  indorsement,  209;  opposition  to  statistics,  209; 
fast  days  declared,  3 10;  few  appeals,  210;  few  exciting  debates, 
210;  declaration  against  making,  selling,  or  giving  away  ardent 
spirits,  211;  theological  department  postponed,  21 1 ;  biennial  in- 
stead of  annual  meetings,  212,  311;  growth  of  synods  and  pres- 
byteries, 212;  passing  away  of  the  fathers,  213;  the  credit  system, 
213;  large  bodies  not  competent  to  manage  financial  enterprises, 
213;  its  organ,  230;  struggle  and  controversy,  232;  2:)hins  of  com- 
mittees, 232;  committee  of  investigation  church  paper,  239; 
opening  sermon  of  1843,  311;  great  speech  of  1845,  S^-^'i  i^iis- 
sionary  work  of  the  church,  312;  a  Committee  on  Publication, 
313;  report  of  the  board  unsatisfactory,  314;  new  committee,  314; 
Board  of  Education  organized,  316;  Board  of  Cliurch  Erection 
organized,  316;  Committee  on  Fraternal  Correspondence,  317" 
319;  a  complete  history  of  the  church,  319;  day  of  meeting 
changed,  320;  ratified  the  formation  of  California  Presbytery, 
353;  from  1861  to  1S70,  380;  smallness  of  that  of  1S61,  380;  tem- 
porary committees  aj^pointed,  381;  committees  rc-organized  in 
1S63,  382;  meetings  in  Lebanon,  Ohio,  and  Evansville,  Ind.,  383; 
distressing  condition  of  affairs,  382,  383;  convention  at  Chatta- 
nooga, 3S3;  convention  at  Selma,  Ala.,  383,  384;  convention  at 
Memphis,  Tenn.,  384;  Assembly  at  Owensboro,  Ky.,  3S4;  mission 
boards  at  Lebanon,  Term.,  and  Alton,  111.,  re-organized,  3S4; 
Pacific  coast  committee  taken  under  care  of,  384;  Assembly  at 
Memphis,  38^;  a  Committee  on  Organic  Union,  38:5;  Board  of 
Publication  re-organized  at  Nashville,  385;  Assembly  at  Aiur- 
freesboro,  Tenn.,  387;  Boards  of  Missions  consolidated  and 
located  at  St.  Louis,  388;  a  sharp  discussion,  388;  a  compromise, 
42 


658  Index. 

389;  new  presbyteries,  3S9;  consolidation  of  synods,  389;  action 
in  regard  to  slavery,  417,  41S;  at  Nashville,  448,  459;  at  Evans- 
ville,  44S;  at  Iluntsvillc,  449,  45S;  Austin,  Texas,  45S;  Jefferson, 
Texas,  455;  Lebanon,  455;  Lincoln,  455;  McKeesport,  Pa.,  459; 
^Memphis,  456;  semi-centennial,  456;  action  concerning  the  Pan- 
Presbyterian  Council,  464;  on  co-operation  in  foreign  missions, 
c;o4;  on  dancing,  460. 

General  Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  testimony  of,  128; 
apology  of  Kentucky  Synod,  67;  deliverance  of,  68,  inquiries  to, 
68;  disapproved  tlie  action  of  Kentucky  synod,  80. 

General  Synod,  its  management  of  Cumberland  College,  201;  minor 
matters,  202,  203;  expediency  of  organizing  a  General  Assembly; 
203:  strong  feeling  in  favor  of  a  delegated  synod,  204;  minor 
rules  and  transaction,  204,  205;  resolved  into  four  synods,  205; 
necessary  changes  in  Form  of  Government,  20!:5;  synodical 
period,  205;  final  adjournment,  206;  Minutes  lost,  310. 

General  Reflections,  623-626. 

Georgia,  planting  of  the  church  in,  357;  extent  of  the  work  in,  358. 

Gill,  Rev.  Dr.  J.  M.,  41^9;  president  Cumberland  Female  College,  566. 

Gillespie,  Rev.  E.  J.,  440;  in  St.  Louis,  471. 

Gillespie,  Rev.  Jacob,  manuscript  of,  347;  a  pioneer  in  Oregon,  348. 

Gilliam,  Rev.  F.  M.,  in  St.  Louis,  470. 

Givens,  Rev.  S.  D.,  610. 

GooDP.\sTURE,  Rev.  A.  H.,  417. 

Gordon,  Rev.  Dr.  M.  L.,  missionary  to  Japan,  480,  4S2-484. 

Goshen,  121;  an  incident,  126. 

Greene  Academy,  work  of,  528. 

Green,  Rev.  Dr.  J.  B.,  sent  to  Kansas,  361;  441;  615. 

Green,  Nathan,  reminiscences  of,  518,  =^19;  work  of,  521. 

Green,  Hon.  Nathan,  Sr.,  professor  in  law  department  Cumberland 

University,  512. 

Greenville  Seminary,  563. 

Greenwood  Seminary,  563. 

Grider,  Rev.  J.  S.,  agent  Lincoln  University,  549, 

Groves,  Rev.  J.  S.,  editor  Texas  Observer^  594. 


Index.  659 

Guthrie,  Robert,  7. 

Guthrie,  Rev.  J.  S.,  extract  from  letter,  139;  sent  to  Hiwassee  circuit, 
145;  sent  to  West  Tennessee,  149;  in  Alabama,  161. 

Guthrie,  R.  J.,  president  Union  Female  College,  565. 
Guthrie  Presbytery,  when  organized,  3S9. 


H. 

Hail,  Rev.  A.  D.,  accepted  as  a  candidate,  482,  484,  485;  ordained  to 
mission  work,  4S5;  sailed,  4S5;  general  mission  work,  486;  letter 
from,  4S8;  translations  by,  489;  author  of  principles  governing 
mission  work,  493;  in  America,  503. 

Hail,  Rev.  J.  B.,  accepted  as  a  candidate,  482,  484,  485;  sailed  for 
Japan,  4S5;  first  baptism,  487;  translation  by,  489. 

Hall,  Rev.  Ben-j.,  441. 

Hall,  Rev.  Dr.  Thomas,  an  incident,  55. 

Halsell,  Rev.  J.  M.,  editor  Banyier  of  Peace,  ^C)\\  editor  The  Ladies^ 
Pearl,  595. 

Harris,  Mrs.  C.  M.,  editor  The  Gem  and  Our  Lambs,  587. 

Harris,  Rev.  Dr.  D.  M.,  professor  Lincoln  University,  550;  editor 
Cumberland  Presbyterian,  550,  5S6. 

Harris,  Rev.  William,  prayer  of,  35;  biographical  sketch  of,  92; 
dedication  of  his  grandson,  95;  pen  pictures,  96;  first  in  Indiana, 
164;   in  Pennsylvania,  2S4. 

Hawkins,  Rev.  A.  W.,  in  Logansport  (Ind.),  473. 

Hays,  Rev.  Dr.  J.  S.,  address  of,  453-455. 

Henderson,  Rev.  E.  P.,  617. 

Henderson,  Rev.  J.  T.  A.,  a  pioneer,  176;  an  incident,  287;  pastor  of 
Hopewell  (Pa.)  church,  2S9;  in  Sedalia  (Mo.),  473. 

Henderson,  Rev.  Dr.  Robert,  an  orderly  meeting,  43. 

Henderson,  Rev.  T.  H.,  611. 

Hendrix,  Rev.  Dr.  W.  W.,  president  Bethel  College,  568. 

Henson,  J.  C,  418. 

Hess,  Mrs.  Margaret,  memoir  of,  3. 


66o  Index. 

Hess,  Rev.  N.  J.,  an  incident,  148. 

Hill,  Rev.  Hugh  B.,  in  Ohio,  299;  pastor  Oak  Grove  (Tenn.)  church, 
303;  an  incident,  373. 

Hill,  Rev.  H.  H.,  in  Ahibama  and  Mississippi,  259. 

Hodge,  Rev.  Dr.  Charles,  on  Old  Side  views,  8;  on  "the  jerks,"  47. 

Hodge,  Rev.  William,  pastor  at  Shiloh,  Tenn.,  13;  testimony  of,  47. 

Hodges,  Rev.  C.  B.,  614,  615. 

Hogan,  Rev.  David,  incident  of,  477. 

Hopewell  Church  (Enfield,  111.),  first  organized,  171. 

Hopewell  Church  (Iowa),  organized  by  Rev.  J.  C.  Armstrong,  339. 

Hopewell  Church  (Pa.),  its  origin,  288. 

Hopewell    Presbytery,   when    and    where    organized;    its    original 

members,   150. 

Houghton,  Rev.  A.  H.,  sent  to  northern  Iowa  and  southern  Minnesota, 
340;  441. 

Howard,  Rev.  Joseph,  second  church  in  Iowa  organized  in  his  house 
by  Rev.  Cyrus  Haynes,  336. 

Howard,  Rev.  Di{.  J.  M.,  editor  Ctunberland  Preslyteriaii^  5S6. 

Howard,  Rev.  J.  S.,  president  Union  Female  College,  565:  president 
Bethel  College,  568. 

Hudson,  Rev.  G.  G.,  arrival  in  Japan,  502;  report  of,  4S7. 

Hudson,  Rev.  S.  E.,  41S;  influence  of,  528. 

Hughes,  Rev.  Martin,  615. 

Humphrey,  Rev.  J.  F.,  appeal  of,  439. 

Hunter,  Rev.  Dr.  H.  A.,  testimony  of,  28;    professed   religion,    133; 
an  incident,  153;  touching  accounts,  166;  417,  425. 

HuNTSviLLE  (Ala.),  Assembly  at,  449. 

Huntsville  Presbytery,  when  organized,  389. 

Hurst.  T.  M.,  publishing  agent,  587. 

Hutchinson,  Elder,  7. 

Hutchinson,  James,  statement  of,  52,  53. 

Hyde,  Rev.  W.  A.,  611. 

Hymn  Book,  The,  its  history,  315,  316. 


Index.  66  i 

I. 

Illinois,  planting  of  churches,  i6S;  first  sermon,  168;  first  church,  171; 
hardships,  172;  first  presbytery,  173;  papers  in,  594. 

Illinois  Presbytery,  when  organized;  its  original  members,  173. 

Indiana,  planting  churches,  164;  date  of  first  churches,  165;  hard- 
ships, 166;  early  camp-meetings,  167. 

Indians,  mission  to  the,  12S;  societies  formed  for  special  work  among 
the,  129;  a  constitution  for  a  ladies'  missionary  society,  129;  an 
organization  in  Russellville,  Ky.,  129;  arrangements  for  a  school 
among  the,  130;  the  Chickasaw  Nation  never  at  war  with  our 
people,  130;  traditions  of  Tombigbee  River,  131;  establishment 
of  a  school,  treaty  signed,  132;  government  aid  for,  134;  Rev. 
William  Barnett  won,  136;  hardships,  139;  programme  of  duties, 
140;  mission  closed,  141;  Lowry's  mission  to  the  Winnebagoes, 

3H- 
Iowa,  origin  of  the  church  in,  336;  first  church  in,  336;  ruffianism,  337; 
sufferings  of  pioneer  preachers,  340, 

Iowa  Presbytery,  when  organized,  337;  original  members,  337. 

IsH,  Rev.  T.  A.,  a  letter  from,  350,  351, 


J. 
Jackson's  Purchase,  the  work  in,  150,  151. 
J  ARM  AN,  T.  N.,  tutor  Cumberland  University,  510. 
Jefferson  (Texas),  455;  an  incident,  445. 
Jenkins,  Rev.  J.  E.,  allusion  to  pamphlet  by,  165. 
Jerks,  The,  46,  47. 
Johnson,  Rev.  B.  J.,  616. 

Johnson,  Rev.  Dr.  Felix,  431;  president  Bethel  College,  56S. 
Johnson,  Rev.  James,  autobiography  of,  376. 
Johnson,  L.  A.,  president  Trinity  University,  553. 

Johnson,  Rev.  Neil,  in  Iowa,  337;  in  Oregon,  345;  his  journey,  346. 
Johnson,  Rev.  Robert,  statement  of,  436. 
Johnston,  Rev.  T.  M.,  editor  Pacifc  Observer,  596;  354,  355. 
Jones,  Hon.  W.  B.,  trustee  Lincoln  University,  549. 


662  Index. 

K. 

Kansas,  beginning  of  work  in,  35S;  opened  to  white  settlers,  359;  a 
descriptive  letter,  359;  first  church  organized,  360. 

Kansas  City,  self-sustaining,  473. 

Kansas  Presbyteuy,  when  and  where  organized,  360;  original  mem- 
bers, 360;  prohibition,  360;  strength  of,  361. 

Kentucky  Synod,  commission  of  investigation,  77;  commission  met, 
77;  no  right  to  originate  process,  79;  Dr.  Davidson's  concession, 
79;  General  Assembly  of  1807  disapproves,  80;  place  of  meeting 
unfortunate,  80;  revised  its  actions,  83;  extent  of,  44;  charges 
brought  by,  67;  terms  laid  down  by,  68;  exciting  controversies,  i. 

Kentucky  Synod  (Cumberland  Presbyterian),  date  of  formation,  320; 

disappears  from  rolls,  390. 
King  Presbytery,  when  organized,  389. 
King,  Richard,  conversion  of,  7?  AS- 
KING, Rev.  R.  D.,   autobiography   of,    157;    an   incident,    159;    sent  to 
Missouri,  179,  180;  closed  his  life  in  Texas,    181,   194;  ordained, 
191;  hardships  in  Arkansas,  193;  in  Louisiana,  261;  anecdote  of 
his  mother,  637;  ruling  passion  strong  in  death,  633. 

King,  Rev.  R.  M.,  president  Cane  Hill  College,  569. 

King,  Mrs.  Samuel,  anecdote  of,  627,  628. 

King,  Rev.  Samuel,  at  school,  6;  evangelistic  tour,  34;  before  Tran- 
sylvania Presbytery,  49;  first  against  whisky,  54;  an  agent,  60; 
biographical  sketch,  91;  94,  124,  126;  sent  to  the  Indians,  129; 
moved  to  Missouri,  iSo;  sketch  of,  185;  visitation  by  order  of 
Assembly,  211;  in  Louisiana,  261;  attitude  on  temperance,  604. 

KiRKPATRiCK,  Rev.  Hugh,  biographical  sketch  of,  92;  heroic  endur- 
ance, 148. 

Knoxville  Presbytery,  when  organized,  147;  its  original  members, 
147. 

L. 

Ladies'  Pearl,  The,  389;  595. 

Langdon,  Rev.  W.  S.,  financial  agent  Committee  of  Publication,  315; 
rule  for  newspaper  discussions,  370;  in  St.  Louis.  471 ;  publishing- 
agent,  583;  editor  Banner  of  Peace,  591;  editor  Ladies'  Pearl, 
595;  description  of  lay  evangelism,  619. 


Index,  66^ 

Lansden,  Rev.  Abner  W.,  sent  to  East  Tennessee,  145. 

Latham,  Col.  R.  B.,  trustee  Lincoln  University,  54S,  549. 

Latta,  Rev.  E.  C,  description  of  meeting,  352;  440. 

LouGHRAN,  Rev.  Cornelius,  a  Presbyterian  minister,  273;  changed 
relation,  2S3. 

LouGHRAN,  Rev.  J.,  president  Waj'nesburg  College,  533;  resigned,  534. 

Lawyer,  Rev.  F.  P.,  ordained  missionary  to  Mexico,  506. 

Lay  Exhorters,  53,  54;  activity  needed,  64. 

Leavenworth  Presbytery,  organization  of,  360,  3S9;  strength  of, 
361. 

Leavitt,  Miss  Julia,  arrived  in  Japan,  490;  work  at  Osaka,  500,  ^01; 
at  Shingu  and  Tanabe,  501. 

Lebanon  Board  of  Missions,  441,  442,  447. 

Lebanon  Church  (Ohio),  organization,  29S;  Rev.  Dr.  M.  H.  Bone  its 
first  pastor,  29S;  work  of  Rev.  F.  G.  Black,  298;  church  bell,  29S, 
399;  an  incident,  377?  37^- 

Lebanon  Presbytery,  crossed  the  mountains  to  hold  its  meeting,  147. 

Lebanon  (Tenn.),  455. 

Lincoln  (111-),  455. 

Lincoln  University,  origin  of,  541-544;  a  charter,  543;  endowment, 
543,  544;  co-educational,  544;  efforts  to  establish  law  and  theo- 
logical departments,  546;  decline  in  attendance,  546,  547;  work 
of,  547;  trustees,  54S;  faculty  resigned,  550;  list  of  teachers,  551. 

Lindley,  Rev.  Jacob,  a  Presbyterian  minister,  273;  report  of  first 
camp-meeting,  380;  autobiography  of,  285;  at  the  meeting  of  his 
presbytery,  2S6;  becomes  a  Cumberland  Presbyterian,  286;  his 
work  in  Ohio,  292,  293;  at  Beverly,  296;  incidents,  394,  295. 

LiNDSLEY,  Rev.  Du.  J.  Berrien,  services  rendered  by,  S6. 

Lindsley,  Dr.  N.  Lawrence,  professor  in  Cumberland  University, 
510,  founder  of  Greenwood  Seminary,  563. 

Little  Rock  (Ark.),  self-supporting,  473. 
LiTTRELL,  Rev.  J.  Cal.,  610,  611. 

Logan,  Rev.  Dr.  J.  B.,  secretary  Board  of  Missions,  475;  editor,  543, 
594'  595'  i"  charge  of  Spring  River  Academy,  555;  editor  7Vie 
Ladies'  Pearly  595. 


664  Index. 

Logan,  Rev.  W.  C,  editor  St.  Louis  Observer,  595;  editor  Theological 
Medium,  596. 

Logan  Presbytery,  organized,  94;  original  members,  94;  its  extent, 
hi;  plan  of  work,  112,  113;  ladies'  missionary  society,  132;  mis- 
sionaries sent  to  other  States,  132;  districts  and  missionaries,  164; 
fast  days,  165;  condemning  the  Nashville  convention,  236. 

LoGANSPOKT  (Ind.),  473. 

Loudon  High  School,  572. 

Louisiana,  planting  the  church  in,  261;   first  church  organized,  261. 

Louisiana  Presbytery,  when  organized,  261;  original  members,  261; 
dissolved^  and  again  revived,  262;  Sumner  Bacon  licensed  and 
ordained  by,  266. 

Love,  Rev.  G.  W.,  615. 

LowRY,  Rev.  David,  professor  in  Cumberland  College,  225,  226; 
editor,  230;  missionary  to  the  Winnebago  Indians,  324—327; 
appeals  for  missions,  32S;  organized  first  Protestant  chuich  in 
Iowa,  336;  in  favor  of  concentration  in  the  North-west,  337; 
reply  to  Dr.  Wilson,  62;  testimony  on  temperance,  608. 

LowRY,  S.  DoAK,  in  charge  of  Cane  Hill  College,  569. 

Lyle,  Rev.  John,  bearer  and  defender  of  Minutes  of  Kentucky 
Synod,  S3. 

M. 

MacCrae,  Rev.  Dr.,  quotation  from,  71. 

Madison  College,  work  of,  52S,  529,  531, 

Majors,  Alexander,  pioneer  in  Nebraska,  613. 

Mariner,  William,  professor  in  Cumberland  University,  513;  pro- 
fessor in  Lincoln  University,  54S. 

Marshall,  Mrs.  Mary,  a  pioneer  worker,  199,  200. 

Mattox,  Rev.  G.  N.,  work  of,  423,  424. 

McAdow,  Rev.  Samuel,  two  sermons,  36;  night  spent  in  prayer,  84; 
biographical  sketch,  90;  sermons,  105;  settled  in  Illinois,  174. 

McBryde,  Rev.  W.  P.,  an  incident,  637, 

McCallan,  Rev.  J.  B.,  an  incident,  302. 

McCord,  Rev.  B.  F.,  professor  in  Lincoln  University,  54S. 


Index.  665 

McCoRKLE,  Rev.  Archibald,  a  Missouri  pioneer,  183. 

McCrosky,  Rev.  E.  J.,  in  Chattanooga,  474. 

McCuTCHEON,  Rev.  J.  F.,  429;  an  incident,  429,  430. 

McDaniel,  Rev.  Hiram,  in  Arkansas,  195. 

McDonald,  Alexander,  a  mother's  prayers,  642,  643. 

McDoNNOLD,  Rev.  Dr.  B.  W.,  president  Cumberland  University,  516; 
Life  Insurance  Companies,  520,  521;  president  Bethel  College, 
568. 

McDoNNOLD,  Rev.  James,  first  itinerant  in  West  Tennessee,  14S;  "a 
circuit  rider"  in  Texas,  270. 

McDoNNOLD,  Rev.  Philip,  wonderful  career,  96. 

McGee  College,  561;  list  of  teachers,  562;  importance  of,  562,  563; 
names  of  nicn  educated  at,  563. 

McGee,  Rev.  John,  12,  16,  17. 

McGee  Presbytery,  when  organized,  173,  17S;  "intermediate  meet- 
ing," 191. 

McGee,  Rev.  William,  biographical  sketch  of,  91, 

McGhee,  Rev.  Z.  M.,  first  to  settle  in  Georgia,  358. 

McGiiirk,  Dr.  N.  II.,  479;  missionary,  480. 

McGinnis,  Albert,  professor  in  Waynesburg  College,  53S;  professor 
and  acting  president  Lincoln  University,  550. 

McGlumphy,  Rev.  Dr.  A.  J.,  professor  in  Waynesburg  College,  535: 
professor  in  Lincoln  University,  544;  president  of  Lincoln  Uni- 
versity, 546;  jDresident  Ozark  College,  573. 

McGov/N,  Rev.  A.  J.,  heroism  and  integrity  of,  267;  an  incident,  268; 
at  Mississippi  Synod,  268;  returns  to  the  United  States,  371;  a 
jDresentiment  of  death,  643,  644. 

McGready,  Rev.  James,  statement  of,  8;  friends  of,  9;  covenant  of, 
10;   work  began,  11;  singing  hymns  an  offense,  41. 

McKeesport  (Pa.),  459. 

McLean,  Rev.  Ephraim,  a  true  hero,  55,  56;  ordained,  84;  biograph- 
ical sketch,  91;   perplexed  on  the  slavery  question,  412. 

McLean,  George,  a  trial  and  a  triumph,  636,  637. 

McLean,  J.  S.,  417. 

McLeskey,  Rev.  Dr.  B.  G.,  president  Trinity  University,  553. 


666  Index. 

McLiN,  Rev.  D.  W.,  biographical  sketch,  92;  in  IlUnois,  171. 

McMuKRAY,  Mrs.  Elizabeth,  narrative  furnished  by,  13. 

McMuRRAY,  Rev.  J.  M.,  agent  Cumberland  University,  511,  513. 

McPherson,  Rev.  C.  G.,  professor  in  Cumberland  University,  509,510, 

McSpeddin,  Rev.  Samuel,  at  school,  6,  7;  testimony  about,  8;  about 
the  origin  of  the  revival,  17;  his  character,  95. 

Meek,  Rev.  J.  J.,  418. 

Memphis,  456. 

Methodists,  no  opposition  from,  26. 

Mexico,  vvoik  in,  504-506. 

Miller,  Rev.  Dr.  A.  B.,  450;  tutor  in  Waynesburg  College,  533;  pro- 
fessor in,  534;  jDresident  of,  536;  his  life  w^ork,  536,  537;  editor 
Ciunbei'land  Presbyterian  (Pa.),  592,  595. 

Miller,  Rev.  Barnett,  435. 

Miller,  Mrs.  M.  K.  B.,  work  of,  533,  537. 

Miller,  Rev.  Dr.  Samuel,  letter  of,  30;  his  ninth  letter  and  its  an- 
swer, 43;   correction  of,  45. 

Milligan,  Rev.  Mi:.,  resolutions  of,  436. 

Ministerial  Relief,  Board  of,  organized,  458,  460. 

Ministry,  preaching  on  a  call  to  the,  115. 

Missions,  v/ork  of  synods  and  presbyteries,  322;  city  missions,  322, 
469-475;  Winnebago  Indians,  334-327;  two  young  ladies  sent  out 
under  the  A.  B.  C.  F.  M.,  338;  appeal  of  Rev.  David  Lowry,  328; 
his  report,  328,  329;  work  among  the  Indians  pressed,  330-332; 
a  growing  feeling  for  our  own  board,  332;  first  foreign  mission- 
ary, 333;  from  1S60  to  1S70,  440-447;  home  mission  work,  440, 
441,475;  foreign,  441;  progress  of,  469;  v;ork  of  city  missions, 
469-475;  a  list  of  growing  mission  churches,  475;  missions 
among  the  Indians,  476-479;  mission  to  Trinidad,  479-481;  work 
in  Japan,  482;  first  convert  baptized,  487;  first  official  report,  487; 
extended  preaching  tour,  488;  need  of  denominational  literature, 
489;  book  and  tract  store  opened,  490;  arrival  of  Miss  Orr  and 
Miss  Leavitt,  490;  the  annual  report,  491;  first  elders,  492;  prin- 
ciples governing  mission  policy,  493;  liberality  of,  494;  great 
fruitfulness,  495-498;  Corea,  496;  names  of  m.issionarics,  502; 
great  gain  to  the  home  churches,  503;  co-operation  with  other 
churches,  ^o\\  the  Missionary  Record^  506;  systematic  giving, 
506,  507;  home  churches  can  not  live  without,  507,  508. 


Index.  667 

Missions,  Board  of,  organized  313;  not  chartered  until  1845,  133,  209; 
no  paid  officers  at  first,  312;  first  president,  312;  secretary  with 
salaiy,  312;  appeal  for  Liberia,  334;  in  favor  of  China,  335;  Rev. 
J.  C.  Armstrong  appointed  to  Turkey,  335;  sends  Rev.  P.  H. 
Crider  to  lovi^a,  339;  resolved  to  establish  a  mission  at  St.  Cloud, 
Minn.,  340;  Bell's  mission  closed,  141;  board  located  in  St.  Louis, 
388;  discussion  over  the  plans  of,  388. 

Missionary  Record,  The,  506. 

Mississippi,  planting  the  Church  in,  253;  a  slander  denounced,  254; 
vacating  the  Choctaw  and  Chickasaw  country,  254;  speculation 
rife,  255. 

Mississippi  Presbytery,  when  and  where  organized,  256;  original 
members,  256;  an  incident,  258. 

Mississippi  Synod,  when  organized,  extent,  258;  organizes  Louisiana 
Presbytery,  258;  Texas  Presbytery,  258,  268;  new  presbyteries 
created  and  dissolved,  258;  Oxford  and  New  Hope  organized, 
258. 

Missouri,  origin  of  the  church  in,  175;  first  sermon,  17^;  home  supply 
of  ministers,  181;  noble  women,  181;  camp-meetings,  1S4,  635; 
a  pioneer  scene  sketched,  188;  educational  work  in,  572,  573; 
papers  in,  594. 

Mitchell,  Rev.  Dr.  J.  B.,  450;  president  McGee  College,  561. 

Miyosmi  San,  at  Cumberland  University,  502. 

Modrall,  Rev.  N.  P.,  418. 

Montana,  618. 

Moody,  D.  L.,  an  illustration  from,  28;  record  of,  63. 

Moore,  Rev.  A.  A.,  sent  to  Kansas,  361. 

Moore,  Rev.  B.  F.,  first  in  Colorado,  610. 

Moore,  Rev.  William,  sent  to  the  Indians,  129;  interesting  incident, 
136;  sermon  by,  161;  his  grave,  162. 

Moorman,  Rev.  R.  A.  A.,  an  incident,  378. 

Morgan,  Rev.  John,  becomes  a  preacher,  156;  visits  Pennsylvania, 
274;  account  of  work,  275;  camp-meetings,  281,  293;  an  incident, 
281;  began  the  publication  of  the  Unioit  and  Evangelist^  2<)\\ 
visits  Ohio,  292,  293;  a  distillery  closed,  293;  professoi"  in  Madison 
College,  529;  incident  of,  530;  death,  291. 

Morris,  Rev.  Dr.  E.  D.,  corresponding  delegate,  456,  467. 


668  Index. 

MoRuisox,  Rev.  Dr.  James,  452. 

Morrow.  Rev.  J.  B.,  635. 

Morrow,  Rev.  R.  D.,  sent  to  Missouri,  175;  punctuality,  176;  report, 
177;  opened  School  of  the  Prophets,  17S;  anecdote  of,  632,  633. 

MoTHERAL,  Rev.  N.  W.,  in  Chattanooga,  474. 

Mourner's  Bench,  its  use  and  abuse,  42. 

Mountain  View  Church,  353. 

Mt.  Moriah,  first  congregation  organized  as  a  Cumberland  Presbyte- 
rian church,  125;  historic  sketch,  125,  126. 

Mt.  Zion,  first  church  organized  in  Indiana,  166. 

Muddy  River,  meeting  at,  11. 

Murray,  Rev.  Gibson  W.,  account  of,  160. 


N. 

Nashville,  jail  of,  ^\  Robert  Donnell  began  preaching  in,  127;  much 
opposition,  127;  Assembly  at,  448. 

Nebraska,  early  settlers,  612;    not  supported   by  the   Board   of  Mis- 
sions, 616. 

Nebraska  City,   first    Cumberland    Presbyterian    church    organized, 
613-615. 

Nebraska  Presbytery,  when  and  where  organized,  616. 

Nelson,  Rev.  David,  testimony  of,  24. 

Nelson,  Rev.  Dr.  IL  A.,  450. 

Newburg  Church  (Ind.),  167. 

Nev/  Fields,  610. 

New  Hope  Church,  an  historic  place,  123,  124. 

New  Hope  Presbytery,  when  organized,  258;  efficiency  and  energy 
of,  259;  united  with  Columbus  Presbytery,  259. 

New  Lebanon  Church  (Mo.),  178;  when  organized,  187. 

New  Lebanon  Presbytery,  facts   from  Rea's  history,  375;  resolu- 
tions in  favor  of  the  Maine  law,  375. 

Newman,  Rev.  A.  M.,  death  of,  131. 

New  Mexico,  611,  612. 


Index.  669 


Newspapers,  590-597. 

Nicholson,  Rev.  John,  a  sermon  by,  634. 

North  Carolina,  missionary  work  in,  357. 


o. 

Oak  Grove  Church,  its  annual  camp-meetings,  303. 

Ogden,  Rev.  Benjamin,  7. 

Ogden,  Rev.  John  W.,  agent  Cumberland  College,  215;  corresponding 
editor,  236;  in  Louisiana,  261;  as  agent  visits  Ohio  and  Pennsyl- 
vania, 273. 

Ohio,  origin  of  tlie  church  in,  293;  John  Morgan  visits  Athens,  293, 
293;  his  preaching  closes  a  distillery,  293;  first  camp-meeting  in, 
293;  first  church  in,  394;  first  camp-meeting,  294;  itinerants  ap- 
pointed from  Pennsylvania  Presbytery,  296;  work  at  Senecaville, 
297;  not  strong  in  numbers,  300. 

Ohio  Presbytery,  pra3'er  for  a  revival,  10. 

Oregon,  origin  of  church  in,  343,  343;  Whitman's  massacre,  344;  f;icts 
concerning  emigration,  344,  345;  first  church  in,  346;  manuscript 
sketch  by  Rev.  Jacob  Gillespie,  347. 

Oregon  Presbytery,  when  organized,  original  members,  347;  resolved 
to  have  a  college,  347. 

Organic  Union,  a  committee  appointed  to  confer  with  a  committee 
from  the  Presbyterian  church,  South,  3S5;  Presbyterian  deliver- 
ance on  the  subject,  3S6;  meeting  of  committee  in  Nashville, 
449-451;  plan  of,  450;  response  of  Presbyterian  committee,  4^1; 
agreement  that  negotiations  should  continue,  4^1;  action  of  the 
Cuml^erland  Presbyterian  Assembl}',  451 ;  two  ideas  to  be  con- 
sidered, 451. 

Orr,  Miss  Alice  M.,  arrived  in  Japan,  490;  work  in  the  out  stations, 
500,  501. 

Osaka,  Japan,  first  sermon  preached  in,  4S6;  first  converts,  4S7;  second 
church  organized,  503. 

Osj^ORN,  Rev.  A.  G.,  a  chaplain,  434. 

Our  Denominational  Progress,  631-623;  a  discouraging  feature, 
622;  hopeful  signs,  622;   comparison,  633. 

Our  Lambs,  5S4. 


670  Index. 

Oxford  Presbytery,  when  organized,  25S. 
Ozark  College,  573. 
Ozark  Synod,  390,  ^ 

P. 

Pacific  Presbytery,  when  and  where  organized,  353. 

Parks,  Rev.  R.  C,  a  native  Cherokee,  477. 

Pastors,  none  in  the  first  and  second  periods,  89;  transition  from  mis- 
sionary evangeHsts  to,  242;  opposition  to,  242;  a  growing  senti- 
ment in  favor  of,  243;  the  difference  between  pastors  and  evan- 
gelists, 244;  their  difficult  calling,  245;  mistakes  and  false  views 
concerning,  246;  their  duty  and  their  compensation,  249;  robbed 
by  the  churches,  249-253. 

Pattox,  Rev.  Daniel,  sent  to  South  Alabama,  158;  in  Missouri,  185; 
glimpse  of  his  w^ork,  186;  an  account  of  las.t  meeting  of  General 
Synod,  203. 

Pearson,  Rev.  R.  G.,  evangelist,  618. 

Pennsylvania,  origin  of  church  in,  273;  visited  by  Bone  and  Ogden, 

273;  invitation  and  visit  of  our  missionaries,  273-277 i  fi'st  Pres- 
byterian ministers  to  open  their  churches,  277;  first  Cumberland 
Presbyterian  church,  278;  first  camp-meeting,  279;  reports  in 
church  papers,  283:  formation  of  a  presbytery,  283;  examples  of 
our  noblest  congregations,  287-390. 

Pennsylvania  Presbytery,  when  and  where  organized,  284;  original 
members,  284;  its  rapid  growth,  290;  appointed  itinerants  for 
Ohio,  296. 

Pennsylvania  Synod,  when  and  where  organized,  291;  its  prosperous 
condition,  291;  action  of,  417,  528;  resolutions,  531 ;  Waynesburg 
College  under  control  of,  534;  semi-centennial,  540;  memorial 
from,  4S0;  pledges  of,  483,  485. 

Perry,  Rev.  W.  O.  H.,  president  of  Stewartsville  College,  573;  presi- 
dent Odessa  College,  573. 

Phelps,  Rev.  Dr.  Austin,  quotations  from,  71,  73.  , 

Pierson,  Rev.  Dr.  B.  H.,  151,  304. 

Piner,  Rev.  F.  D.,  superintendent  of  Burney  Academy,  330. 

PiNEY,   121 


Index.  671! 

Pittsburg  (Pa.),  temporary  location  of  Committee  of  Publication,  382; 
committee  discontinued  at,  3S5. 

Pittsburg  Church,  when  organized,  290. 

Planting  of  Churches,  143. 

Porter,  Rev.  James  B.,  power  in  preaching,  32;  his  education  and 
conversion,  56;  biographical  sketch,  91. 

Powell,  Rev.  R.  F.,  616. 

Prairie  Grove,  first  church  organized  among  the  Cherokee  Indians, 

477- 
Presbyterian,  The,  its  charges  against  Cumberland  Presbyterians, 45; 

its  statement  corrected,  46. 

Presbyteries,  organization  of  new,  468. 

Presbyterian  Alliance,  constitution  of,  approved,  45S;  delegates 
elected  to,  458;  relation  of  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  church 
to,  461,  462;  delegates  refused  admittance,  462,  463;  wide-spread 
interest  in,  463;  delegates  appointed  to,  464;  result  of  the  appli- 
cation, 464-466;  rejDort  to  the  General  Assembly,  466. 

Presbyterian  Church,  divisions  in,  39,  40;  propositions  for  union 
with,  385-387,  449,  453;  our  debts  to,  625. 

Presbyterian  Church  (South),  considering  a  change  in  standard  of 
education,  63;   negotiations  for  union  with,  385—387. 

Presbyterians,  Scotch  Irish,  church  erected  by,  6. 

Preston,  Rev.  W.  B.,  editor  Texas  Observer,  594. 

Prime,  Rev.  Dr.  S.  Iren,^us,  recommendation  of,  479. 

Provine,  Rev.  Dr.  J.  C,  secretary  and  treasurer  of  Board  of  Educa- 
tion, 316;  author  of  deliverance  of  Assembly,  1866,  405;  book 
editor  and  publishing  agent,  583;  editor  banner  of  I'eace,  ^(^i; 
editor  77^c  Ladies'  Pearly  595. 

Publication,  577;  first  book  published,  578;  first  step  toward  a  pub- 
lishing department,  578;  arrangements  made  for  publication  of 
books,  578;    hymn  book,  578;  Board  of  Publication  created,  578. 

Publication,  Board  of,  committee  appointed,  313;  programme 
changed,  314;  management  often  changed,  314;  new  committee 
located  at  Nashville,  314;  inheritance  from  the  Louisville  Board, 
315;  charter  secured,  315;  missing  stereotype  plates,  315;  re-or- 
ganized, 385,  387;  debt  paid,  461;  periodicals  purchased  by,  460; 
its  origin,  578;  its  first  members,  579;  a  Committee  of  Publication, 


672  Index. 

579;  book  editor  chosen,  583;  assets  and  liabilities,  587;  located 
at  Louisville,  579;  difficulties,  579,  5S0;  chartered,  582;  moneys 
donated  to,  583;  permanent  committee  chosen,  581;  transferred 
to  Pittsburg,  Pa.,  582;  re-organized  at  Nashville,  582;  publication 
of  newspapers,  5S4,  5S5;  papers  purchased,  585,  586;  books  pub- 
lished, 588,  589;  names  of  members  of,  590. 

Pueblo,  611. 

Pyatt,  Jacob,  an  incident,  190. 

Q. 

QuAiTE,  Rev.  W.  G.  L.,  agent  Cumberland  College,  224;  agent  Cane 
Hill  College,  569. 

R. 

Ransom,  Rev.  L.  C,  editor  Southern  Observer^  384;  a  sermon  by,  385; 

in  St.  Louis,  469;  discipline,  643. 
Rea,  Rev.  J.  W.,  sent  to  West  Tennessee,  149. 

Rea,  Rev.  P.  G.,  interesting  facts  from,  375;  correction  of  Hon.  R.  C. 
Ewing's  dates,  375;  a  barn  meeting,  635,  636. 

Red  Riveu,  meeting  at,  13;  of  historic  interest,  120. 

Reed,  Rev.  R.  S.,  secretary  of  Board  of  Missions,  475;  in  Nebraska, 
613,615. 

Reed,  Rev.  Wiley  M.,  chairman  Committee  of  Publication,  315; 
speech  of,  404. 

Renick,  Rev.  Robert,  a  pioneer,  613,  615. 

Republican  Valley  Presbytery,  strength  of,  361. 

Revision  of  Confession  of  Faith,  59S-604;  a  demand  for,  598;  a 
committee  appointed,  599;  its  report,  599;  a  synod's  vote  of  cen- 
sure, 599;  appointment  of  committees  and  their  work  rejected 
by  the  presbyteries,  600;  the  two  committees  of  1881,  600;  work 
of  the  committees,  601;  changes  made  by  the  Assembly  of  1882, 
602;  grounds  of  complaint,  603;  proof  texts,  603;  preface,  603, 
an  omission,  603;  its  adoption  by  the  presbyteries,  604;  record 
of  the  vote  on,  459. 

Revivals,  prayer  for,  10;  revival  of  iSoo  a  genuine  work,  20;  extent 
of,  26;  opposition  to,  39;  a  cause  of  division,  40;  churches  closed 
against,  40;  personal  violence,  40;  hyper-Calvinism  logically  op- 
posed, 41;  objections  to  measures  used,  42,  defended,  42,  43; 


Index.  673 

Rezner,  Miss  Rena,  arrived  in  Japan  December,  18S6,  502. 

Rice  Rev.  David,  his  removal  to  Kentucky,  6;  testimony  of,  7;  a  ser- 
mon by,  20,  21 ;  opposed  to  revival  "measures,"  42;  visit  to  Mc- 
Gready's  field,  48;  a  favorble  report,  49;  a  letter  on  education  and 
answer,  49. 

Rice,  Rev.  Green  P.,  an  incident,  170,  171;  first  sermon  in  Missouri, 
175- 

Rice,  Rev.  P.  A.,  611. 

Richards,  Rev.  Dr.  S.,  a  chaplain,  426;  professor  in  Lincoln  Univer- 
sity, 544.  546- 

Ridley,  Hon.  Bromfield  L.,  professor  in  law  department  Cumberland 
University,  512. 

Riley,  Prof.  Philip,  an  incident,  227. 

Roach,  Rev.  J.  M.  B.,  struggles  of,  567. 

Roach,  Rev.  J.  N.,  president  Bethel  College,  568;  585. 

Roark,  Rev.  Amos,  first  delegate  to  the  General  Assembly  from 
Texas,  269;  return  to  the  United  States,  271. 

Robinson,  Rev.  Calvin,  476. 

Rochester,  Rev.  Dr.,  diagram  of  progress,  26. 

Rocky  Mountain  Presbytery,  its  organization,  610. 

Ross,  Rev.  R.  L.,  a  liberal  helper  in  church  work,  259;  an  incident, 
260,  261. 

Round  Prairie  Church,  first  in  Kansas,  360. 

Rush,  John  R.,  delegate  to  Presbyterian  Alliance,  462, 


s. 

Sacramento  Presbytery,  strength  of,  356. 

Sacramento  Synod,  name  changed,  390. 

Schaff,  Rev.  Dr.  Philip,  Westminster  Confession,  72,  73. 

Schools  and  Colleges,  555,  556;  importance  of  a  lower  grade  of, 
557;  multiplication  of  colleges,  559;  warnings  of  the  Assemblies, 
559'  5^°'  names  reported,  560. 

Scott,  Rev.  Dr.  W.  A.,  left  the  church,  240;  in  Louisiana,  261. 

Sedalia  (Mo.),  473. 
43 


674  Index. 

Selma  (Ala.),  temporary  Committee  on  Missions  for  the  South  at,  384, 
convention  at,  383,  3S4. 

Shakers,  attitude  of  the  first  Cumberland  Presbyterian  ministers 
toward  the,  25. 

Sharp,  Rev.  J.  E.,  in  Kansas  City,  472, 

Sharp,  James  H.,  professor  in  Cumberland  University,  511. 

Shelby,  Rev.  Aaron,  his  lease  of  Cumberland  College,  216. 

Sherrill,  W.  B.,  president  Bethel  College,  568. 

Shiloh  Church,  13;  meeting  at,  14;  identical  vv^ith  De  Sha's,  18. 

Shook,  Rev.  Isaac,  secretary  of  Board  of  Missions,  312;  his  mission- 
ary magazine,  312:  his  resignation,  313;  agent  of  Board  of  Pub- 
lication, 315;  visit  to  Mississippi,  255;  an  incident,  257;  pastor  at 
Columbus,  Miss.,  258;   in  Ohio,  298;  story  of  the  "stars  falling," 

304- 
Shouting,  origin  of,  18;  opposition  to,  41. 

Sims,  Rev.  R.  J.,  an  evangelist,  618;  a  case  of  fasting  and  prayer,  637; 
a  gainsay er  converted,  638;  a  band  of  rowdies  conquered,  639. 

Simmons,  A.  M.  C,  435. 

Sloan,  Rev.  Robert,  a  circuit  rider,  181;  died  in  Missouri,  196. 

Slavery,  relation  of  Cumberland  Presbyterians  to,  410;  relation  of 
first  ministers  to,  410;  a  sermon  by  Ewing,  411;  McAdow  op- 
posed to,  411;  some  preachers  perplexed,  412;  men  forced  to 
become  slave  owners,  413;  attitude  of  The  Revivalist,  413-416; 
attitude  of  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian,  416;  report  of  the 
Assemblies  of  1848  and  1851  on  the  subject,  416-418. 

Small,  Rev.  J.  M.,  work  of,  353. 

Smith,  Rev.  Hugh  R.,  services  of,  182. 

Smith,  Rev.  James,  editor,  pastor,  and  stated  clerk,  230;  resignation, 
232;  continued  as  editor,  233;  call  for  convention,  233;  in  the 
convention,  234;  re-appearance  of  paper,  235;  attitude  on  the 
college  question,  237;  ubiquitous,  238;  his  inconsistent  course,  239; 
history  by,  16. 

Smith,  Rev.  John  C,  appointed  missionary,  134. 

Smith,  Rev.  J.  J.,  missionary,  477. 

Smith,  Rev.  Dr.  J.  T.,  450. 

Smyrna,  121,  122. 


Index.  '         675 

Soldiers,  preaching  to,  420;  chaplains  in  Confederate  armies,  420,  421, 
426;  in  the  Union  armies,  423-426;  programme  of  services,  428. 

Sonoma  Academy,  353,  354. 

Spain,  J.  D.,  5SS. 

Sparks,  Rev.  S.  INI.,  goes  to  Pennsylvania,  2S4. 

Speer,  Rev.  Dr.,  narrative  of,  15,  26,  46. 

Springfield  (Mb.),  Assembly  at,  451-453. 

Springer,  Rev.  Dr.  F.,  chairman  Committee  on  Correspondence,  458. 

Spring  Hill  Academy,  the  first  school  in  Cumberland,  5,  6. 

Spring  Hill  Institute,  aim  and  origin  of,  571. 

Spring  River  Academy,  555. 

Sprowls,  Rev.  Dr.  J.  P.,  chairman  of  Committee  on  Correspondence, 
45S. 

Statistics,  prejudice  against,  ii6;  Dr.  Burrow  opposed,  117;  468. 

Steele,  Rev.  A.  J.,  v^ork  in  Alabama,  156. 

Steele,  Rev.  J.  H.,  611. 

Stephens,  Rev.  A.  H.,  in  Sedalia,  473. 

St.  Louis,  mission  work  in,  469-472. 

Stewart,  Gen.  A.  P.,  professor  in  Cumberland  University,  511;  offered 
the  presidency  of  University,  516;  evangelist,  621, 

Stewart,  Rev.  S.  T.,  publishing  agent,  5S2. 

Stewartsville  College,  573. 

Stone,  Rev.  A.  M.,  president  Cumberland  Female  College,  566. 

Stone,  Rev.  Barton  W.,  44. 

Sunday  Morning,  5S7. 

Sunday  School  Comments,  587. 

Sunday-School  Gem,  The,  3S9;  584. 

Sweeny,  Rev.  A.  W.,  617. 

Synods,  consolidation  of,  467. 

Synod,  First,  when  and  where  organized,  94;  a  sketch  of  its  members, 
94;  report  of  committee  to  prepare  statement  of  doctrine,  98,  99; 
old  customs,  109-119;  manner  of  representation,  no;  effort  to 
organize  a  presbytery  in  South  Alabama,  157;  plan  for  a  school 
adopted,  201. 


676  Index. 

T. 

Tate,  Rev.  Robert,  his  work  and  death,  269. 

Taylou,  a.  R.,  professor  in  Lincoln  University,  547;  principal  Kansas 
State  Normal  School,  547. 

Tehuacana,  site  of  Trinity  University,  553. 

Temperance,  604;  early  attitude  of  the  church  on,  604;  church  papers 
a  unit,  604,  605;  utterance  of  the  church  courts,  605-607. 

Tempeeton,  Rev.  Dr.  A.,  in  Chattanooga,  474;  anecdote  of,  35S. 

Tennessee  Presbytery,  when  organized,  159;  an  intermediate  ses- 
sion of,  159;  resolved  to  establish  and  endow  a  college,  363. 

Texas,  planting  the  church  in,  263;  first  Protestant  sermon  in,  264;  first 
camp-meeting,  265,  269;  the  revolt  of,  267;  first  church  organized, 
269;  first  Protestant  minister  ordained,  271;  rapid  growth,  272; 
table  of  dates,  272. 

Texas  Cumberland  Presbyterian — Texas  Observer,  594. 

Texas  Presbytery,  when  organized,  26S;  original  members,  26S; 
decided  measures  adopted,  269;  elders  sent  to  help  to  organize 
churches,  270;  incidents,  270;  a  period  of  darkness,  271. 

Texas  Presbyterian,  The,  593. 

Texas  Synod,  when  organized,  271;  its  presbyteries,  371. 

The  Theological  Medium,  3S9,  5S4,  596,  597. 

Theological  School,  efforts  to  establish  a,  363;  location  at  Lebanon, 
Tenn.,  363;  action  of  Bethel  College,  363;  action  of  General  As- 
sembly, 364;  new  missionary  life  awakened  in,  506;  more  than  a 
department  of  the  University,  531,  533;  laws  binding  on  pro- 
fessors in,  532;  co-education,  533;  first,  178,  179;  no  theological 
department  in  Cumberland  College,  211,  212. 

The  Pacific  Observer,  31^4,  596. 

The  Watchman  and  Evangelist,  594. 

Thomas,  Rev.  Dr.  R.  S.,  principal  Union  Female  College,  564. 

Thomas,  Rev.  S.  Y.,  sent  to  East  Tennessee,  146;  pioneer  in  West 
Tennessee,  150;  his  labors  in  Concord  church,  303. 

Tokens,  their  use  dropped,  109. 

Tombigbee  Presbytery,  when  organized,  15S. 

Topp,  Col.  John  S.,  an  anecdote  of,  354. 


Index.  677 

Transylvania  Presbytery,  48,  49;  division  of,  i,  56. 

Trinity  University,  origin  of,  551,  552;  endowment,  553;  importance 

of>  553'  554-1  its  work,  554. 
The  Rays  of  Light,  587. 
Tulare  Presbytery,  strength  of,  356;  when  organized,  389. 

U. 

Union  Female  College,  founding  of,  564. 

Union  Presbytery  (Presbyterian),  4. 

Union  Presbytery  (Pa.),  when  and  where  organized,  291. 

Union  Synod,  name  changed,  390. 

Uniontown  Church  (Pa.),  one  of  the  first  in  Pennsylvania,  287. 

V. 
Van  Patten,  Rev.  J.  C,  agent  Lincohi  University,  549. 
Venezuela,  as  a  mission  field,  480,  48 1. 

w. 

Walla  Walla  (W.  T.),  616,  617. 

Walla  Walla  Presbytery,  618. 

Ward,  John  Shirley,  editor  TJie  Ladies'  Pearl,  595. 

Ward,  Rev.  Dr.  W.  E.,  appointed  a  delegate  to  Presbyterian  Alliance, 
^62;  agent  Cumberland  University,  C514;  an  incident,  51^;  founder 
Ward's  Seminary,  570,  571;  president  Board  of  Publication,  589; 
editor  Banner  of  Peace,  591. 

Ward's  Seminary,  570,  571. 

War  Record,  391;  sermon  by  Rev.  Dr.  Milton  Bird,  391-395;  resolu- 
tions in  1861,  395;  report  in  1862,  396,  397;  in  1863,  398,  399;  the 
deliverance  of  1S64,  399, 400;  protest,  401-403;  resolution  of  186=^, 
403;  action  of  Southern  conventions,  404;  secession  of  Oxford 
Presbytery,  404;  Chattanooga  convention,  404;  determination  to 
avoid  schism,  405;  deliverance  of  1866,  40^;  resolutions  of  Penn- 
sylvania Synod,  406;  deliverance  of  1867,  407;  report  of  186S, 
408-410. 


678  Index. 

Warren,  Rev.  J.  II.,  superintendent  Sunday-schools,  456. 

Washington  (Tenn.),  work  of  first  evangelists  at,  143. 

Washington  Territory,  616-618. 

Watkins,  Rev.  R.  O.,  first  candidate  for  the  ministry  in  Texas,  268; 
driven  from  his  work,  270;  first  Protestant  minister  ordained  in 
Texas,  271. 

Watson,  Rev.  Benjamin,  reflections  of,  374;  his  history,  374,  375. 

Waukon  Church  (Iowa),  organized,  339. 

Waynesburg  Church  (Pa.),  organized,  283. 

Waynesburg  College,  527-541;  founded,  533;  charter  granted,  534; 
passed  under  control  of  Pennsylvania  Synod,  534;  its  relation  to 
the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  church,  534;  labors  of  Dr.  Miller 
'".536,  537;  of  Mrs.  Miller,  537;  work  of,  537,  538,  541;  pro- 
fessors and  teachers,  533,  535,  53S;  theological  dei^artment,  538, 
539;  endowment,  539,  540. 

Weekly  Papers,  consolidation  of,  460,  585,  5S6. 

Weethee,  Rev.  J.  P.,  528,  president  of  Madison  College,  529;  presi- 
dent Beverly  College,  532;   president  Waynesburg  College,  535. 

Weir,  Rev.  Edmoxd,  missionary  to  Liberia,  333;  commissioned  to 
raise  funds,  333;   work  in  Liberia,  334,  335;  441-443. 

Weir,  Rev.  J.  C,  a  jDioneer  in  Alabama,  162. 

Weir,  Rev.  Moses  T.,  seeks  separate  organization  for  colored  people, 
435;  at  Warrensburg  Assembly,  436. 

Westminister  Confession,  reservations  in  adopting,  66;  meaning  of 
the  word  "fatality,"  66:  doctrinal  difficulty,  67;  ecclesiastical  de- 
liverances in  181 1,  68;  proposed  substitute  for,  69;  doctrines  not 
accepted  as  of  old,  70;  difficulties  of  liberal  defenders,  Ji;  utter- 
•ance  of  Rev.  Dr.  MacCrae.  71;  protests  coming  from  Calvinists, 
71-73;  the  third  chapter  rejected,  73. 

West  Tennessee,  148-160;  an  Incident,  377. 

West  Virginia,  a  small  beginning,  357. 

Whatley,  Rev.  A.  II.,  missionary  to  IMexico,  504,  505;  work  com- 
menced, 505,  506. 

W^HITE,  Rev.  A.  W^.,  his  work  under  Christian  Commission,  423. 

White,  Rev.  J.  G.,  evangelist  in  Iowa,  337;  missionary  at  St.  Louis, 
469. 


Index.  679 

Wichita  Presbytery,  strength  of,  361. 

Williams,  Dixox  C,  evangelist,  6i8,  621. 

Williams,  Rev.  R.  A.,  616. 

Wills,  Rev.  R.  H.,  617. 

Wilson,  Rev.  A.  M.,  441. 

WiLSOx,  John  D.,  publishing  agent,  587. 

Wilson,  Rev.  Dr.  J.  L.,  statement  of,  63;  one  of  the  commission,  Si. 

Winchester,  Rev.  G.  L.,  his  work  as  chaplain,  427,  431. 

Woman's  Board  of  Missions,  organization,  457,  487,  4S8;  its  success, 
457;  first  Board  of  Missions  a  Woman's  Board,  457;  arrival  of 
Miss  Orr  and  Miss  Leavitt  in  Japan,  490;  arrival  of  Mrs.  Dren- 
nan,  494;  the  girls'  school  opened,  495;  Mrs.  Drennan's  classes 
for  young  men,  495;  arrival  of  INIiss  Duffiekl,  500;  arrival  of  Miss 
Rezner,  502;  names  of  missionaries,  502. 

Woods,  Rev.  J.  W.,  work  as  chaplain,  426. 

Woods,  Rev.  LeRoy,  his  journey  to  Pennsylvania,  284;  his  marriage, 
285;  publishing  agent,  579;  testimony  concerning  first  Presbyte- 
rian preachers,  527,  528;  reasons  for  going  to  the  legislature,  605; 
incidents  furnished  by,  529,  628,  629. 

Y. 

Yager,  Rev.  C,  in  California,  351,  440. 
Young,  Rev.  A.  A.,  a  pioneer,  1S5. 
Young,  Rev.  T.  E..  435. 


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